31a Livro-En PDF

How to catch things that
don’t exist
How to recognise things that
How to name things that
don’t exist
How to deal with things that
How to live with things that
How to build things that don’t exist
How to believe in things that
don’t exist
How to document things that
31st Bienal de São Paulo How to (...) things that don’t exist
Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t
defeat. The Amazon isn’t silly. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t Ca-
belo de Velha. The Amazon isn’t beads. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon
isn’t. The Amazon isn’t nesting. The Amazon isn’t noble. The Amazon
isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon
isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t leprosy. The
Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t a river. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon
isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t commodity.
The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t.
The Amazon isn’t Cabanagem. The Amazon isn’t vertigo. The Amazon
isn’t a canoe. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t a choice. The Amazon
isn’t terror. The Amazon isn’t baroque. The Amazon isn’t incendiary. The
Amazon isn’t Tum tá tá. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t serious. The
Amazon isn’t calm. The Amazon isn’t sowing seeds. The Amazon isn’t.
The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t eternal. The Ama-
zon isn’t reinvention. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t discord. The
Amazon isn’t fleeting. The Amazon isn’t what we want. The Amazon isn’t.
The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t an exposed fracture. The Amazon
isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t mourning. The Amazon isn’t.
The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t 38. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon
isn’t. The Amazon isn’t torment. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t.
The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t Serra do Cachim-
bo. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon
isn’t 19. The Amazon isn’t make-believe. The Amazon isn’t politics. The
Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t promise. The Amazon isn’t complicity.
The Amazon isn’t the edge. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The
Amazon isn’t misfortune. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Ama-
zon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t the Xingu. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon
isn’t subtlety. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The
Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t a
corollary of lies. The Amazon isn’t the BR-230 highway. The Amazon isn’t.
The Amazon isn’t a threat. The Amazon isn’t Belle Époque varnish. The
Amazon isn’t carelessness. The Amazon isn’t fortune. The Amazon isn’t
252. The Amazon isn’t intensity. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t a
search. The Amazon isn’t highway. The Amazon isn’t Orellana. The Ama-
zon isn’t constant doubt. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t black earth.
The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t accusation. The Amazon isn’t. The
mockery. The Amazon isn’t fallibility. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t
The Amazon isn’t some two-bit technocrat. The Amazon isn’t. The Ama-
zon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t a state
of being. The Amazon isn’t a State. The Amazon isn’t absence. The Ama-
zon isn’t concealing. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t vassalage. The
Amazon isn’t a silver whistle. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The
Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t.
The Amazon isn’t appearances. The Amazon isn’t experience. The Ama-
zon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t Javindia. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t
harshness. The Amazon isn’t of child-bearing age. The Amazon isn’t. The
The Amazon isn’t society. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Ama-
zon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t blame. The Amazon isn’t.
The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t parturient. The
Amazon isn’t Rio de Raivas. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The
Amazon isn’t damned. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon
isn’t campgrounds. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon
isn’t murderous. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t.
The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t Macondo. The
Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t translatable. The Amazon isn’t. The Ama-
zon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t putrid. The Amazon isn’t beautiful. The Ama-
zon isn’t human experience. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The
Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t coziness. The Amazon
isn’t obedient. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t.
The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t consternation. The Amazon isn’t in-
solence. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t a balle-
rina. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon
isn’t. The Amazon isn’t corrosive. The Amazon isn’t monkey business.
The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t first-rate timber.
The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t tragic. The Ama-
zon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t a media spectacle. The Amazon isn’t. The
Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t solitude. The Amazon
isn’t the Company of Jesus. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The
Amazon isn’t voluptuousness. The Amazon isn’t uneasiness. The Amazon
isn’t the red light. The Amazon isn’t hereditary. The Amazon isn’t. The
bleeding from the ear. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon
isn’t. The Amazon isn’t religion. The Amazon isn’t Purgatory. The Amazon
isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t jungle! The Amazon isn’t soft-
ness. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon
isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t misfortune.
The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t
Pagan. The Amazon isn’t paternal authority. The Amazon isn’t. The Ama-
zon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t filicidal. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t.
dementia. The Amazon isn’t civilisation. The Amazon isn’t gluttony. The
Amazon isn’t frigidness. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t illogical
reasoning. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t justice. The Amazon isn’t.
The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t discord. The
Amazon isn’t Malaysia. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t cowardice.
The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t conspiracy. The Amazon isn’t. The
Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t selective. The Amazon isn’t siege. The
Amazon isn’t carelessness. The Amazon isn’t companionate. The Amazon
isn’t an infamous project. The Amazon isn’t a trap. The Amazon isn’t. The
nuisance. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The
Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t suffering. The Amazon
isn’t a rainforest. The Amazon isn’t the Pervert. The Amazon isn’t. The
The Amazon isn’t the Black Forest. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t.
The Amazon isn’t disillusionment. The Amazon isn’t La Condamine. The
Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t camaraderie. The Amazon isn’t. The
Amazon isn’t civility. The Amazon isn’t a gum tree. The Amazon isn’t a
devastator of spirits. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon
isn’t the Foreign Ministry. The Amazon isn’t domesticable. The Amazon
isn’t. The Amazon isn’t a lavish spender. The Amazon isn’t hollow. The
The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t Medellin. The Amazon isn’t. The
Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t lamentation. The Ama-
zon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The
Amazon isn’t refinement. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Ama-
The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t coercion. The
Amazon isn’t sordidness. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Ama-
a model. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The
The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t a pendant. The
The Amazon isn’t submission. The Amazon isn’t whereabouts. The Ama-
zon isn’t dawn. The Amazon isn’t displeasure. The Amazon isn’t. The
Amazon isn’t concupiscence. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The
The Amazon isn’t gospel. The Amazon isn’t guerrilla warfare. The Ama-
television. The Amazon isn’t hereditary. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon
isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t a bellyful. The Amazon isn’t.
The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t gunshot and echo.
The Amazon isn’t fecund. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Ama-
zon isn’t a place of banishment. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The
bow-and-arrow. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t.
The Amazon isn’t silence in the woods. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon
isn’t. The Amazon isn’t luck. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The
Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t the owner of a rub-
ber plantation. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t a mass grave. The
The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t categorical. The Amazon isn’t
sacrifice. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The
Amazon isn’t pounds sterling. The Amazon isn’t strange. The Amazon
isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The
a silver harness. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t spurs. The Ama-
The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon
isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Ama-
zon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t recurrence. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon
isn’t. The Amazon isn’t aristocratic. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t.
The Amazon isn’t fear. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon
isn’t. The Amazon isn’t intimidation. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t.
The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t captive. The Amazon isn’t. The Ama-
Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The
Amazon isn’t equilibrium. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Ama-
-
How to
-
think
-
about
things
-
that don’t
exist
How to
imagine
things
that don’t
exist
Bienal and Itaú present
31st Bienal
How to
talk about
things
that don’t
exist
8
•• At first sight, How to (…) things that don’t exist
might seem like an abstract question. But perhaps
we should think of the title of the 31st Bienal de São
Paulo as a contemporary dilemma: how do we live
in a world that is in a permanent state of transforma-
tion, in which the old forms – of work, of behaviour,
of art – no longer fit and the new forms have yet to
be clearly outlined?
By choosing this curatorial project, the
Bienal makes room for a fresh view of its build-
ing and its history, with a proposal that leaves the
modernist heritage on the sidelines in favour of new
approaches and considerations. The book you now
hold in your hands is another piece of evidence of
the vigorous work realised by the curators and the
foundation’s permanent staff.
Working in one of the biggest cities in the
world, we are responsible for an event that attracts
more than five hundred thousand people and is in-
creasingly more committed to the cultural and so-
cial circles that surround us. For the past five years,
the Education Department has been developing
an unparalleled project in teacher training – which,
by the end of 2014, will have reached 25,000 edu-
cators – and with the participation of new sectors
of the public, involving communities and partner
communities all over Brazil. At the same time, the
Bienal’s travelling programme has brought recent
editions of the exhibition to different Brazilian cit-
ies, drawing larger and larger crowds. This year, it
has the potential to double the number of specta-
tors, so that the 31st Bienal is seen by a total of one
million people.
Beyond the spectrum of instruction
and the spread of culture, we also operate with
increasing focus in the area of research. Since 2013,
resources have been applied to revitalising the
Bienal Archive, consolidating its place as a centre
of reference and memory in modern and contem-
porary art. This process has already begun to bear
fruit, which should become more visible in the
coming years.
Thus, transcending the exhibitions that it
stages, the Bienal Foundation is today an institution
dedicated to the production of content, the profes-
sional training of its personnel and the implementa-
tion of a consistent management model. Still, its
activities would not be possible without the crucial
support provided by the Ministry of Culture, the
State Secretary of Culture, the Municipal Secretary
of Culture, its partner in the event, Itaú, its spon-
sors, and a valuable cultural partnership with sesc
São Paulo. It is this network of support that allows
us to strengthen the bonds between art, the avant-
garde and education in order to merit and maintain
our place of prestige on the national and interna-
tional scene.
Luis Terepins
President of the Bienal de
São Paulo Foundation
9
•• Itaú Unibanco believes that access to culture,
in addition to bringing people closer to art, is a
fundamental complement to education, develop-
ing critical thinking and transforming individu-
als, society and the country.
This is why we invest in and sup-
port one of Brazil’s most important cultural
manifestations. We are the official sponsor of
the 31st Bienal: an event which transforms with
each edition, welcoming more people, new ideas
and variations of artistic expression which ex-
pand the horizons of those who participate in
and visit the exhibition.
With more access to art and broader
horizons, knowledge grows and a variety of
opportunities emerge to change the world for
the better. After all, people’s worlds change when
they have more culture. And the world of culture
changes with more people.
Investing in changes that make the
world a better place is what it means to be a bank
made for you.
Investing in culture.
#thischangestheworld
Itaú. Made for you.
10
••Art and the senses of the world
In our contemporary context, rife with symbols
and interpretations that blend and clash, ques-
tions remain about the possibilities of individu-
als finding their way. Each of us may feel, to
a greater or lesser extent, the urgency of at-
tributing meaning, under the penalty of being
overwhelmed by images, texts and sounds that
construct reality.
Art participates in this symbolic circula-
tion as a protagonist, with its often disturbing
presence and commentaries regarding other
presences. In this way, the approximation of
contemporary visual art production can signify
the expansion of its possibilities for reading the
things of the world to various audiences.
From the perception of this potential
comes the partnership between sesc – the Social
Service of Commerce and the Bienal de São Pau-
lo Foundation, born out of the compatibility of
their missions for spreading and fomenting con-
temporary art and which has been manifested in
joint actions since 2010. The 31st Bienal consoli-
dates this partnership with the development of
educational efforts, such as open meetings and
curatorial workshops, as well as the co-produc-
tion of artworks, with selected pieces traveling to
sesc locations throughout the state.
This shared effort reaffirms the convic-
tion that the fields of culture and art are geared
for educational intervention – a real vector of
collaboration and the transformation of individu-
als and society.
Danilo Santos de Miranda

Regional Director of
sesc São Paulo
11
Contents pp.38-41
Agência Popular de Cultura
pp.65-67
Wonderland, 2013
Solano Trindade Halil Altındere
Lyrics from Wonderland written by
Inside front cover-p.4 pp.42-44 Tahribad-ı İsyan
The Amazon Isn’t Mine! Open Meetings
Text by Armando Queiroz pp.68-69
p.45 Violencia, 1973-1977 [Violence]
p.16 A Toolbox for Cultural Organisation Juan Carlos Romero
Meeting Point, 2011
Bruno Pacheco pp.46-47 p.70
Educativo Bienal Sem título, 2013 [Untitled]
p.17 Éder Oliveira
Untitled, 1975 p.48
Juan Downey p.71
O que caminha ao lado, 2014
[Double Goer] Não é sobre sapatos, 2014
p.18 Erick Beltrán [It Is Not About Shoes]
Não-ideia, 2002 [No-Idea] Gabriel Mascaro
Marta Neves p.49
pp.72-73
Não-ideia, 2002 [No-Idea]
p.19 Marta Neves A última palavra é a penúltima – 2,
Dheisheh Refugee Camp, 2008/2014 [The Last Word Is the
Bethlehem, West Bank p.50 Penultimate One – 2]
Alessandro Petti and Sandi Hilal Teatro da Vertigem
The Map of Utopia, The Map
of the City, 2012
p.20 pp.74-75
Qiu Zhijie
O que caminha ao lado, 2014 Nada é, 2014 [Nothing Is]
[Double Goer] p.51 Yuri Firmeza
Erick Beltrán Text by Ana Maria Maia
Wonderland, 2013
Halil Altındere
pp.21-25 pp.76-77
Baobab Connection pp.52-57 Invention, 2014
Text by Alessandro Petti, Sandi Mark Lewis
Working with Things That
Hilal, Grupo Contrafilé and others Don’t Exist
pp.78-79
Text by Benjamin Seroussi, Charles
pp.26-27 Esche, Galit Eilat, Luiza Proença, Small World, 2014
Turning a Blind Eye, 2014 Nuria Enguita Mayo, Oren Sagiv Interview with Yochai Avrahami
Bik Van der Pol and Pablo Lafuente
pp.80-89
pp.28-30 p.58 On Seeking Incuriously
SIASAT – São Paulo Untitled, 1988 Text by Tony Chakar
ruangrupa Juan Downey
p.90
pp.31-33 pp.59-61 Dust Bowl in Our Hand, 2013
Espacio para abortar, 2014 Ônibus Tarifa Zero, 2014 Prabhakar Pachpute
[Space to Abort] [Fare Free Bus]
Mujeres Creando Graziela Kunsch p.91
Text by Max Jorge Hinderer Cruz Breakfast, 2014
pp.62-63 Leigh Orpaz
pp.34-37 Voto!, 2012-ongoing [Vote!] Text by Helena Vilalta
Comboio and Movimento Ana Lira
Moinho Vivo pp.92-93
pp.63-65 Those of Whom, 2014
Save Roşia, 2013 Notes for Those of Whom by
Dan Perjovschi Sheela Gowda
12
pp.94-95 pp.108-109 p.126
Céu, 2014 [Heaven] Ymá Nhandehetama, 2009 A última aventura, 2011
Danica Dakić [In the Past We Were Many] [The Last Adventure]
Armando Queiroz with Almires Romy Pocztaruk
p.96 Martins and Marcelo Rodrigues
Meeting Point, 2012 Text by Almires Martins p.127
Bruno Pacheco Life Coaching, 1999
pp.110-111 Lia Perjovschi
p.97 MapAzônia
Open Phone Booth, 2011 Part of Dossiê: Por uma cartografia pp.128-135
Nilbar Güreş crítica da Amazônia [Dossier: Image Captions
Text by Santiago García Navarro For a Critical Cartography of the
Amazon] pp.136-137
p.98 Projects’ Credits
pp.112-113
Resimli Tarih, 1995
[Illustrated History] House/studio views, 2014 pp.138-153
Gülsün Karamustafa Vivian Suter
Biographies
Text by Helena Vilalta
p.114
pp.154-159
p.99 Untitled, 2010 and Untitled
Credits
Landversation, 2014 (Mine), 2009
Otobong Nkanga Wilhelm Sasnal
pp.160-161
p.115 Acknowledgments
p.100
Kopernik, 2004 [Copernicus] Árvore de sangue – Fogo que
p.166
Wilhelm Sasnal consume porcos, 2014
[Blood Tree – Fire Devouring Pigs], neoblanc, 2013
Thiago Martins de Melo Yonamine
p.101
Art Education, 1999 p.167
pp. 116-117
Lia Perjovschi
Cotton White-Gold, 2010 The Map of the Park, 2012
Anna Boghiguian Qiu Zhijie
p.102
Video Trans Americas, 1973-1979 pp.168-169
pp.117-119
Juan Downey
Archéologie marine, 2014 Of Other Worlds That Are
[Marine Archaeology] in This One, 2014
p.103
El Hadji Sy Tony Chakar
Tayari (Amazon Rain Forest), 1977
Excerpt from Black Soul by
Juan Downey pp.170-171
Jean‑François Brière
Los incontados: un tríptico, 2014
p.104
p.120 [The Uncounted: A Triptych]
Fuego en Castilla, 1958-1960 Mapa Teatro – Laboratorio
Cities by the River, 2014
[Fire in Castile] de artistas
Anna Boghiguian
Val del Omar
pp.121-122 pp.172-174
p.105
Handira, 1997 The Excluded. In a moment
O suplício do bastardo da brancura, of danger, 2014
Teresa Lanceta
2013 [The Hardship of Bastard Text Notes for the film The Excluded
of Whiteness] by Chto Delat
p.123
Thiago Martins de Melo
Junction, 2010
pp.175-179
pp.106-107 Nilbar Güreş
Errar de Dios, 2014 [Erring
A última aventura, 2011 [The Last from God]
pp.124-125
Adventure] Etcétera... and León Ferrari
Romy Pocztaruk Muhacir, 2003 [The Settler]
Letter from Luísa Kiefer to Gülsün Karamustafa
Romy Pocztaruk Text by Helena Vilalta
13
p.180 pp.201-211 pp.248-249
Letters to the Reader 1864, 1877, ‘All It Takes Is for Educators to Sergio e Simone, 2007-2014
1916, 1923, 2014 Question Themselves’ [Sergio and Simone]
Walid Raad Text by Graziela Kunsch, Lilian Virginia de Medeiros
L’Abbate Kelian and invited
p.181 educators pp.250-265
Minimal Secret, 2011 Towards an Art of Instauring Modes
Voluspa Jarpa p.213 of Existence That ‘Do not Exist’
Text by Santiago García Navarro Poster for the 31st Bienal Text by Peter Pál Pelbart
Prabhakar Pachpute
p.182 p.255
Karl Marx, 1992 pp. 214-225 Pages from Les Détours de
Lázaro Saavedra Architecture l’agir: Ou, Le Moindre Geste,
Fernand Deligny
p.183 pp.226-227
Nogal (serie Perímetros), 2012 Balayer – A Map of Sweeping, 2014 p.261
[Walnut (Perimeters Series)] Imogen Stidworthy Spear, 1963-1965
Johanna Calle Text by Helena Vilalta Edward Krasiński
p.184 pp.228-229 pp.266-267

Contables (serie Imponderables), “… - OHPERA – MUET - ...” 2014 Installation at Edward Krasiński’s
2009 [Countables (Imponderables [“… - MUTE - OHPERA - …”] Studio, 2003
Series)] Alejandra Riera with UEINZZ Edward Krasiński
Johanna Calle Text by Alejandra Riera
pp.268-269
pp.184-185 pp.230-233 Agoramaquia (el caso exacto de la
Apelo, 2014 [Plea] Línea de vida | Museo Travesti del estatua), 2014 [Agoramaquia (The
Text Speech for the film Apelo by Perú, 2009-2013 [Life’s Timeline | Exact Case of the Statue)]
Clara Ianni and Transvestite Museum of Peru] Asier Mendizabal
Débora Maria da Silva Giuseppe Campuzano
pp.270-271
pp.186-187 pp.234-238 In the Land of the Giants, 2013
Justice for Aliens, 2012 Loomshuttles, Warpaths, Jo Baer
Agnieszka Piksa 2009-ongoing
Ines Doujak and John Barker pp.272-273
pp.188-190 Aguaespejo granadino, 1953-1955
The Incidental Insurgents, 2012 p.239 [Water-Mirror of Granada]
Basel Abbas and Untitled (Perú-Bolivia Journey), 1976 Text Dialogues by Val del Omar
Ruanne Abou-Rahme Juan Downey
pp.274-275
pp.191-194 pp.240-241 Fuego en Castilla, 1958-1960
The Revolution Must Be a School of Overhead, 2010 and [Fire in Castile]
Unfettered Thought, 2014 The Grapes, 2010 Text Programme by Val del Omar
Jakob Jakobsen and María Berríos Nilbar Güreş
pp.276-279
pp.195-200 pp.242-245 Caderno de referência, 1980s
La Escuela Moderna [The Modern Dios es marica, 1973-2002 [Reference Notebook]
School], 2014 [God is Queer] Hudinilson Jr.
Files by Archivo F.X./Pedro G. Nahum Zenil / Ocaña / Sergio Text Xerox Action by Mario Ramiro
Romero Zevallos / Yeguas del Apocalipsis
Text by Miguel A. López pp.280-281
Casa de caboclo, 2014
pp.246-247 [House of Caboclo]
Counting the Stars, 2014 Arthur Scovino
Text by Nurit Sharett and
Carlos Gutierrez
14
pp.282-285 p.314
Letra morta, 2014 [Dead Letter] Back to the Farm II, 2013
Excerpt of the film script by Prabhakar Pachpute
Juan Pérez Agirregoikoa
p.315
p.286 Del Tercer Mundo Exhibition,
Vila Maria, 2014 Havana, 1968 [From the
Danica Dakić Third World]
pp.287-288 pp.316-317
A família do Capitão Gervásio, 2013 Index of Participants
[Captain Gervásio’s Family]
Kasper Akhøj and pp.318-320
Tamar Guimarães Index of Projects at the 31st Bienal
pp.289-292 p.325-Inside back cover

Terrible Deed The Amazon Isn’t Mine!
Text by Michael Kessus Text by Armando Queiroz
Gedalyovich
pp.293-295
Nosso Lar, Brasília, 2014
Jonas Staal
pp.296-297
Nova Jerusalém [New Jerusalem]
Text by Benjamin Seroussi and
Eyal Danon
pp.298-301
Inferno, 2013 [Hell]
Yael Bartana
pp.301-303
Capitol, 2009; Columbus, 2014;
Untitled, 2013
Wilhelm Sasnal
pp.304-309
Mind and Sense: On the
Ambivalence in Noraic Husdrapa
and Mind Singing.
Text by Asger Jorn
pp.310-311
neoblanc, 2013
Yonamine
p.312
Knowledge, 1999
Lia Perjovschi
p.313
Landversation, 2014
Otobong Nkanga
15
Bruno Pacheco, Meeting Point, 2011
Juan Downey, Untitled, 1975
Marta Neves, Não-ideia, 2002 [No-Idea]
Alessandro Petti and Sandi Hilal, Dheisheh Refugee Camp, Bethlehem, West Bank, 2008
Erick Beltrán, O que caminha ao lado, 2014 [Double Goer]
20
Baobab Connection
Text for the project Mujawara by Alessando Petti, Grupo Contrafilé, Sandi Hilal and others
From March 2014, the duo of Architects Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti and the Grupo Contrafilé
held meetings in São Paulo, at the Centro Cultural Tainã, in Campinas, and at the Terra Vista settle-
ment in southern Bahia, where they were joined by Milson Oniletó (a member of the Rede Mocam-
bos), TC Silva and Joelson Ferreira de Oliveira, who are leading activists in the struggle for land.
Through the educational platform Campus in Camps, Alessandro Petti and Sandi Hilal work with communities of Palestin-
ian refugees to produce new forms of representation of the camps and of themselves – overcoming the static, traditional
images of victimisation, passivity and poverty by promoting new political and spatial configurations. Contrafilé has been
working with land issues by building ‘backyards’ within the A Rebelião das crianças [Children’s Uprising] project. Allowing
the body to work the land, in the land and through the land, Contrafilé creates a collective space for imagining and playing,
which is, above all things, the access to a spatiality of freedom. The Centro Cultural Tainã is a political centre for educa-
tional and cultural production. Created by TC Silva, it is the milestone of the Rede Mocambos, which connects quilombola
communities (self-sufficient communities formed by activists affirming their African-Brazilian heritage) through the inter-
net and the ritualistic planting of baobabs. Its horizontal and non-linear links subvert the rooted notion of an ancestral past,
which no longer acts on the present, so that these other temporalities can emerge and awaken critical thought. Founded
in 1995 in Arataca by workers related to the Movimento dos Sem-Terra [Landless Workers’ Movement] (mst), Terra Vista
defines itself simultaneously as settlement and quilombo. A regional leader in organic farming, it has developed a compre-
hensive educational programme, from middle school up to professional education in agroecology.
Sunrise
Terra Vista settlement, Arataca, 5 May 2014
Contrafilé
[…] After having a private talk with Joelson, TC brought us some new information: there’s
a place where Joelson plans to build a temple for ‘chiefs’ meetings. We woke up at 5.30
a.m. and went to his house, where we were already expected. We went for a walk through
the settlement, taking many pauses, in which Master Joelson, as he’s known there, gave
us real lectures. Leaning always on a tree, he evoked the image of the ‘original school’.
Every young baobab we found was revered by TC. The symbolic

and dynamic role of these trees within the movement became
very clear. According to him: ‘Soon, every point in the network
will have its baobab, which will become the “password” of this
movement.’
When the walk ended, Joelson took us where the temple will be built: it’s the place where he watches the
sunrise and makes his connections; he also intends to plant a baobab there. ‘It will be a temple for celebrating
water, knowledge and the sun,’ he says, and adds: ‘always circular; the circle is the shape that guides us.’
We cultivate together
Sandi Hilal: Does the word TC: Quilombo refers to the territory, and mo-
cambos are the villages or families in the connec-
‘quilombo’ identify a territorial ted area within a common territory. All farming,
feasts and childbirths are collective. The most
term, like the word ‘camp’? What’s important values of African heritage are nature,
its source? land and integration.
21
Sandi Hilal: You’re saying something like: ‘we cultivate together’, but if you have a community that eats,
dances and plants together, how does it relate to other communities? Does the concept of quilombo
imply a network?
Sandi Hilal: One of the things Alessandro
TC: It is very important to think in a global and I are aiming at is the Palestinian refu-
gee camp. These camps are neither private
sense, in an exchange of struggles – a nor public property. They’re a community
‘Baobafricanisation of the Americas’. And of people standing together fighting for
their right to return back home. Maybe
new technologies are important for this. the real conflict arises from the question of
how these communities can stay together
Alessandro Petti: In 1948, when Israel was established, the beyond all this state construction.
first thing they did was to flatten all this collective land and
put it in one single category of public land. In a way, this was
a form of expropriation. We always think that public land is Sandi Hilal: At the beginning of the seed-
ing season, the farmers will divide and sort
good for all. But we don’t realise that this is only good for the
the land so each one has his place of land
coloniser. Let me give an example: there were several catego- for seeding. It was important to support
ries of this collective land, one of them called Al Masha, which each other, it was a form of being together.
referred to ‘people together’. Everyone knew that it didn’t And you have to seed. If you are not cul-
belong to you or me, it was a common land. tivating you cannot be there. The plot of
land you are assigned is not fixed, espe-
cially so you don’t feel you own the land.
Alessandro Petti: The question for
us now is, what is the Al Masha Alessandro Petti, Sandi Hilal and Grupo Contrafilé, Mujawara, 2014
today? What is, for you, the
quilombo today? We think Al Ma-
sha today is in the camps, because
for sixty-five years, even though
refugees have been living in very
difficult circumstances, there is
a total autonomy to how people
organise themselves. It is the most
political space you can imagine. I
understand the desire to go back
to memories and roots, but it was
the colonial powers that invented
the notions of the native and the
authentic. This is a way of manag-
ing that recognises a subject, but
disallows him or her from having Contrafilé: In the case of Brazil, the connection with Africa can defi-
nitely establish a different way of thinking today. It’s not necessarily a
influence or being contemporary. paralysing return, it can be more of a spiral than a linear link.
Sandi Hilal: When you look at a quilombo, what is very interesting is the consciousness of asking for col-
lectivity. In camps, even when life is very collective in action, the request is to return to private property.
After the end of a certain world

Contrafilé: The refugee camps, the quilombos, the backyards, reconnect
with an idea of existence on the land, that, when it gains visibility, is able
to break away from hegemonic thought-forms. Just as the Zapatistas,
who, according to Eduardo Viveiros de Castro, are the evidence of what
can exist ‘after the end of a certain world’ the quilombolas and the refu-
gees allow historically prohibited relations and connections to take place.
22
Alessandro Petti: That’s because by the simple fact that they exist they create a problem for
those in power. If there are refugees it means that people have been expelled; if they return,
Israel as it is today cannot exist. If one accepts this way of thinking one understands that
this is not just about resisting, it’s an existential problem. This implies that, when you look
at the situation through the lens of these existences, the only possibility is to dismantle the
state as it is today.
Sandi Hilal: Is this also the case with the quilombos? Is it a political battle for normali-
sation or decolonisation? One of the lessons I learned from Paulo Freire is that the
only one that can liberate the coloniser is the colonised.
TC Silva: After all, who is the victim of what? We’re not
simply resisting, we’re making proposals.
Contrafilé: From the moment when the question is about existing and not integrating, what kind of existence is that?
TC Silva: I want to exist by myself, not ac-
cording to the way someone else wants me And the baobab comes in
to exist, or not to exist. When we’re talking TC Silva: In school, everything I was told about my people
about what oppresses us, we’re not accept- was that we were slaves. As a young boy, I believed that
black people are born already chained in the mother’s
ing the position of victim, we’re looking for womb, not that they had suffered violence and been en-
decolonised forms of thinking. slaved. The Africans who came here were colonised into
getting used to that idea. And so were those who colonised,
Contrafilé: When we built the in order to believe that enslaving, denying and killing the
backyard in São Bernardo in 2013, culture of another was a good thing. Colonisation is a serious
issue, it denies important human experiences. That’s where
we heard from a young man that the baobab comes in. Why didn’t societies try to see what
by digging holes, planting trees, the world would look like, guided by these ancestral rites?
building things and touching the
earth he had connected with a
knowledge he did not know that
Fernand Deligny, drawings

possessed until then, because city
life had never allowed him to ac-
cess that, as if it had been invisible.
He started to understand his black
and indigenous heritage, he recon-
nected with his grandmother, his
great-grandmother, as well as the TC Silva (singing): ‘I can find myself anywhere in the world, if I
aunt who had a candomblé temple, carry my parents’ house within me, I’ll be alright.’ I am the ter-
ritory, if I have the reference of the territory. If I don’t have this,
but where his mother, a Protestant, then I don’t have anything. Nothing’s more than you, inside you
never let him go. there’s only you, and inside you nothing belongs to you.
Contrafilé: It seems that the body, when it touches the land, realises immediately that the
land isn’t the property of anyone, that it belongs to all – it’s the incontestable proof of a
common dimension.
Joelson F. de Oliveira: When you look at nature,
you see that singularities and collectivities get along
TC Silva: (singing): ‘Come, living is easy as
very well, they don’t fight. In the forest, the strong,
the weak and the newborn live together. And all of a flying. Flying beyond the reaches of light.
sudden, the strong have to die so the small can live. In our dark inner depths.’ We can all make a
So too is the river. The spring flows into a stream, difference if we can realise who we are. We
which flows into a river, which then flows into have to grow strong as people. Otherwise
the ocean.
we’ll always be half-people.
23
Milson Oniletó: This will be the symbol of this century’s change. Because we were
‘europeanly’ taught to be a dependent part of the other. ‘You are my part and together
we’re complete.’ No, African societies teach that we have to be whole. This doesn’t mean
being selfish. I am God, I grow with myself; then I’ll merge with you who are also God
and are whole; then with you and with you, and we grow in a circle.
TC Silva: The territory is your place, where you plant, where
you eat, where you work the land. It’s something charged with
meaning, involving ancestral values, from which we have been
disconnected. We spend our whole lives without ever touching
the land, but nothing exists without it. Therefore, I don’t have
to carry anyone’s territory. The territory is ours, therefore we
Alessandro Petti and
Sandi Hilal, Dheisheh
can move inside it to connect with other territories and realities.
Refugee Camp, (Showing the baobab fruit.) This is the baobab’s house. It’s like
Bethlehem, West Bank, a womb, a temporary shelter. All that comes out of it will expand.
1955 /2012
Milson Oniletó:
I am because we are.
Having a fixed identity or the

right to transform oneself?
Alessandro Petti: How can the quilombo stop being an identity
project and become one where all the people can join in? The
conflict would be between having a fixed identity and having TC Silva: Since the beginning the
the right to transform oneself. This is also valid for Palestine. colonising process has tried to
You first have to have a Palestinian state identity. But then it’s a deconstruct the quilombola and
national state like any other. This is where camps and possibly
indigenous identities. Remember-
quilombos could be different; they could be places where people
are not fixed in one identity. ing doesn’t mean being stuck in
the past. It’s important not to forget
Sandi Hilal: After being expelled in 1948, the one’s own history, because if you do
refugees lived in tents for four years. When you’ll be submissive to churches,
they eventually built four walls, they wondered political parties, the media...
whether or not to build a roof. They feared that
if they built the roof, this would prevent them Campus in Camps,
from going home. Once I heard some women
in the camp ask one of the leaders: ‘When
Campus in Quilombos
will we return home?’ He said: ‘We don’t have Alessandro Petti: In order to talk about these
enough transportation to take you home’. This places today and not just about the past, we
felt it was very necessary to build a university
is a core question for them: how can we take inside it, and we called it Campus in Camps.
our present life back to our history? That is the This has to do with what you have been
life of exile. doing at Rede Mocambos, by connecting
quilombos.
24
Sandi Hilal: The principle of Campus in Camps is not simply to move the structure
of a university as it is inside the camp, but to actually think of the camp as a source
of knowledge. This is actually how a university should be: a place to give names to
things, to problematise our own lives.
Alessandro Petti: I think we definitely have
a good starting point, talking about the refu-
Joelson F. de Oliveira: Our greatest dream is to build a school gees, quilombos and education. But we have
that awards graduate diplomas or a Masters degree. The idea is, to secure some distance, or we may risk just
together with neighbouring communities, that the child starts describing the thing and not adding anything
from kindergarten and has a full education here. If we can get or even problematising anything. We must
communities to work together, we’ll combine knowledge. bring this discussion back to the idea of me-
tropolis, to the Bienal itself. This is also the
world that we inhabit.
What does it mean to be contemporary?

Grupo Contrafilé, preparation for baobab planting
Contrafilé: You don’t have to be ritual, 2010
in a city in order to be contem-

porary. Conversely, urbanity
does not necessarily mean a
city. It means that many scales
operate at the same time. If,
for instance, you are in a refu-
gee camp, there are people
connecting through Alessandro Petti: Maybe the question is: what can we do
many different layers and together now? This has political power. Just being fasci-
nated by the other is not enough and it’s not worth just
levels on local and global showing things in the museum.
scales, they are creating Joelson F. de Oliveira: So thinking about this,

how will liberty be built? The work towards
institutions and knowledge. liberty is harder than that towards being a
slave. We have to produce good experiences
for the eyes of the world. But it’s necessary
that they be concrete. Then they will flourish
Contrafilé: Exactly. If we define that we are working by themselves. During one of the occupation
with these realities not only in theory we need to processes, we marched from Feira de Santana
step forward and truly do away with representa- to Salvador. When we finally got there, we
tion. For this, we believe in another kind of image, went to a place where there was only concrete
and on the buses there was only space for
which is a dense-image, a land-image. That is, we
the women and children. Then it started to
use land-support as the means for the materialisa- rain and only stopped the following morning.
tion of an image that has realised itself inside us with We, the men, stood for twelve hours in the
urgency. Then, a body acting on urbanity through rain. We asked ourselves ‘Why are we doing
this image wouldn’t be a machine, and here is where this?’ Now we know why: to protect Mother
Earth to have a plot of land, to have another
its power lies. Because it’s a body that carries an
perspective.
image at the same time as it is carried by it: it is
a born image.
25
Turning a Blind Eye
Admiral Nelson was a British flag officer in the Turning a Blind Eye investigates recent events
Royal Navy, famous for his leadership, sense in Brazil and worldwide, departing from tensions
of strategy and unconventional tactics, which around the exploitation of urban and natural space. The
resulted in a number of decisive naval victories. programme has been created with the participation of
He was wounded several times in combat, losing the general public, students of the School of Missing
one arm and the sight in one eye. Studies, universities and organisations in São Paulo. The
During the Battle of Copenhagen 31st Bienal acts as the site for the project’s creation and
(1801) his cautious overall commander research, implementing the educational model of ‘the
Parker sent a signal to Nelson’s forces giv- school’ as a form of mental theatre that may create new
ing him discretion to withdraw. At that time, horizons of action, production and reflection.
naval orders were transmitted via a system of
signal flags. When the more aggressive Nelson Bik Van der Pol
was given attention to this signal, he lifted his
telescope up to his blind eye and said ‘I really do
not see the signal!’, and his forces continued the
attack, resulting – after a lot of destruction – in
a victory for the British fleet.
We may all be blind to what is in front of us;

we might also be willfully blind. Turning a
Blind Eye (2014), a programme of public
workshops, events, lectures and walks by Bik
Van der Pol, explores different notions of the Bik Van der Pol, [accumulate, collect, show], 2011
‘unseen’ (the non-visible and the non-existent),
and the ways in which we look at things or
choose what we look at. The programme
seeks to investigate the idea of ‘publicness’, as
well as to generate a public for its own activi-
ties. A live, large scoreboard animated live
follows the developments of the projects and
invites the publics to become participants.
We understand that artistic practice
is a form of learning, and a space of experi-
ence and encounter. Art can be a strategy
for emancipation and a potential response
to public issues. The recent occupations of
public squares worldwide, or the increasing
commercial exploitation of private information,
demonstrate the urgency of public space as a
site of conflict over rights, information, rela-
tions and objects.
Debates over forms of common
property such as knowledge and culture
show that public space is to be understood in
the broadest possible terms – as that which
holds the fabric of experience-as-community
together. Yet it is threatened by exclusions,
privileged access and disinformation to the
point that it becomes invisible. Public property
needs to be re-articulated time and again, and
is just as precarious as the natural environ-
ment, threatened by a predatory economy.
26
Bik Van der Pol, School of Missing Studies, 2013 - ongoing
A MISSING IN PROGRESS BARBARIZING FRAGMENTED IT'S TIME MAN.

VOCABULARY Islandkeepers: PUBLIC CARTOGRA- IT FEELS IMMI-
writing & dis- Gediminas and SPEECH PHIES NENT: POLITICS
cussion Nomeda Urbonas Islandkeeper: Islandkeeepr: AT THE MOMENT
Collective activities contrib-
sessions uting to the cross-
Maria Boletsi Tina Sherwell OF
Public rhetorical strategies Exploring the contem-
Islandkeeper: disciplinary exchange EXPOSITION
and the ways they give a porary landscape of
between several nodes of
Moosje Goosen shape to (and restricts) Palestine in particular Islandkeeper:
knowledge production:
What does it mean to public space. urban environments.
network and participatory Sarah Pierce
engage in ‘the missing’
technologies; sensorial The main question that runs
and to acknowledge the FREELAND
media and public space; through the thesis is what
unknown?
environmental remediation Islandkeeper: does it mean to situate
design and spatial organiz- one's work "in institution,"
ation; and alternative pla- Jeroen while at the same time
Turning a blind eye
COMMONING
nning design integration Zuidgeest rubbing against official (and [or: ignoring an
TIMES Communi(ci)ty’, the institutionalised) ways of
knowing?
undesirable infor-
Islandkeepers: THINK TANK societal, cultural and
moral issues of a boletsi mation] or
Rene Gabri and AESTHETICS radical liberation I really do not see
Ayreen Anastas Islandkeeper: of planning.
This island is about living in the signal!
a world in which the doing Pamela M. Lee Interactions between forests
is separated from the deed, Think Tank Aesthetics and atmosphere, mapping
in which this separation is reflects on art and its and economics,
extended in an increasing relations to current mutual learning as forms of
numbers of spheres of life, debates about the politi- exchange, lost knowledge
in which the revolt about cal and the social against and megaprojects in the
this separation becomes the backdrop of neo- Amazone,
ubiquitous. liberalism. displacement, participatory
In collaboration with Casco architecture, lost sights, lost
Projects, Utrecht sites, walking tours, invisible
rivers concrete jungle,
THE BORDERS unseen and turned away,
ARE NO LONGER participatory forms of
staging.
BLUEPRINT NL nagele AT THE BORDER
(NAGELE) Islandkeeper:
Islandkeepers: Ernst van den
DIVINE
Bik van der Pol Hemel
Comparison of different ABSTRACTION “The borders of new socio- INTERVENTION
urban ideologies from political entities (...) are no Islandkeeper:
different perspectives,
Islandkeeper: longer entirely situated at
27
analyzing the effect of Maria Lind the outer limit of territories; Samira
current (global) devel- Abstract Possible is a they are dispersed a little BenLaloua
opments in (former) research project explor- everywhere, wherever the Scenarios for an interven-
new towns, observing ing notions of abstrac- movement of information, tion as a response to
new towns of today and tion, taking contempo- people, and things is hap- tenderness in the daily life
speculating on the rary art as its starting pening and is controlled” and a challenge to that
future. point. (Etienne Balibar). what is near.
Oct 2013 Oct 2014
ABSTRACTION AND FRAGMENTATION URBAN SPACES AND SPACE OF LANGUAGE AND RHETORIC URBAN SPATIAL POLITICS
NATURE AS SITES OF CONFLICT
THE COMMONS,
BOUNDARIES, BORDERS AND ACCESS HISTORY, ARCHIVES ECOLOGY AND TECHNOLOGY
PRIVATIZATION AND ACCESS
1. The elements
On context – the mobility
experienced by people with different
social, economic and cultural
backgrounds has created diverse
behaviours and communities.
There are cartographies of hybrid
behaviours and social realms that
influence one another.
On histor y – write…
On the social – deploy well-tested
formulas and strategies in using
the urban space as locus for social
intervention, while exploring new
means and methods.
On politics – discover some
channels to fill in the gaps. Speak
ruangrupa, RURU.ZIP, Decompression #10,
from our own position to complete
National Gallery of Indonesia, Jakarta, 2010
or otherwise enrich the structure by
offering more spaces for exploration,
without boring attempts to directly
oppose whatever establishment there
is – while at the same time avoiding
SIASAT – São Paulo co-option.
Text for the project RURU by ruangrupa On culture – engage with the widest
possible landscape of arts and cultural
production and involve the public
Our latest payroll statistics show that ruangrupa regularly
within the arena of production.
involves more than twenty people, and works with about
ten project-based additional people. Being an organisation On interdisciplinarity – set up
of such small scale, having survived for nearly fifteen a group of people who produce
years cannot be considered as a small feat. In addition, spontaneous and sporadic ideas.
being an organisation born in a post-crisis context – at the
On collaboration – it is about
time when Indonesia was struggling with the lingering
giving everyone a remote control.
effects of the 1998 Asian economic depression – crisis has
always been an omnipresent factor that forever haunts the On process – a direct opposition, an
consciousness of ruangrupa. In 2011, a little shortly after antithesis, a resistance, or a direct
we celebrated our tenth anniversary, we composed an reaction against the mainstream.
always-in-beta document entitled SIASAT: a short tactical
Multiply-Integrate-Viral
guide for artist-run initiatives, an ‘dense’ eighty-page
binder, a how-to manifesto-like survival kit. On platform – the space should also
be imagined as a continuous effort
SIASAT – São Paulo can be considered as a prototype, towards a better dissemination.
born out of SIASAT. What is forced relocation (whether
On working style – love and other
following touristic, economic or the basic survival impetus)
demons… jokes and play… music and
but a form of crisis?
alcohol and cigarettes.
What follows are some statements taken from the Distraction is bliss.
document, which served as our starting points in
formulating SIASAT – São Paulo.
28
2. The empire of love 3. The shelter 4. The centre of the storm
Grow and work as a platform Participants should be able to Things to consider as survival kit:
(foundation/vessel) that can continue disperse or even hide easily. In this Laptop (as long as there is electricity)
to hold ideas, passion, excitement, sense, warehouses and government Sleeping bag
imagination and dreams, and, of buildings are not an option. Medical kit
course, friendship. Military survival guidebook
On how to choose a space:
Build a structure that has the Things to consider as
Social/cultural context and class
adaptability/flexibility to change sur vival tricks:
– the question of using domestic,
based on the realities of the society Reduce programmes
commercial, abandoned space or
around it. Build a structure that can Reduce expenditure
even of becoming spaceless should
acknowledge the speed of change in Friends or family loan
be raised.
society. Pawnshop
Budget – budget-less is also possible. Inheritance (maybe)
Do not trust any existing
Charity
structure. Invent your own. On how to build an architectural
Last but not least: busking,
character:
Do not pay too much attention scrounging and begging for money
to the structure. Let the content Facilitate personal and collective
Internal constraints/domain
define its structure. ideas in the auto-creation of spaces.
disaster:
It always good to be disorganise. On models and programmes:
a. Conflict management
(sic)
Large – meeting/working/archive b. No membership
On networking – make friends not and library; exhibition/screening/ c. Loss of space
art. party; toilet/kitchen; sleeping area/ d. No ideas/motivation, boredom
artist residency/shops; parking e. No funding/money
On local/international partnershit
space; storage approximately f. Social conflict
(sic) – build a decentralised network,
100 sqm; above-average for large
based on collaboration and horizontal On dealing with points (a) (b) (d)
property house/large size apartment/
partnerships. Silaturahmi. – DO NOT try to be wise. One
large warehouse, etc.
rule to settle all: DO NOT BE A
On conflict – it’s overrated.
SMARTASS. DO NOT TRY to reach
On sustainability – ongoing any conclusion.
negotiation.
On dealing with points (c) (e) (f )
– DO NOT TRY to place yourself
as negotiator. Negotiation is not an
important matter. DO NOT PURSUE
justification. Injustices arise only after
justice is defeated.
ruangrupa, RURU.NET Decompression #10,

National Gallery of Indonesia, Jakarta, 2010
29
5. The anatomy of numbers 6. An affair to remember
Money is not everything. Time is… On space and public – intervene
and cooperate by entering spaces of
On local resource – it is NOT
public consumption, such as malls,
advisable to choose donors that
shops, neighbourhoods and streets.
intervene within the programme
Operate through daily and social
platforms.
events. Let people participate. Let
On how to self-raise income: them become a part of everyday life,
donations and fundraising – if you where the public is free. Develop
think setting up a business unit is a new approaches to see tensions in
good idea, make sure that it does not and functions of the public, domestic
corrupt your artistic integrity. This and private spaces. Negotiation and
decision would only be strategic if it interaction with the surroundings are
was integrated with your programmes important aspects which influence
or activities. artistic practice and other activities of
the organisation.
On shops/creative works/
projects/micro-transaction, etc. – On public affairs – the space
make a small shop filled with various becomes a public domain:
artworks from the young artists dispossession of space, open to
that frequently collaborate with you. the public, meeting point, non-
Set up a second-hand market or co- institutional.
operation with small-/street-level
On how to make your space
businesses in order to generate and
public:
support the micro-economic system.
Put the ‘WELCOME’ rug at the front
On commercial/selling/buying – door
only sell your works to your ‘friends’. Don’t lock your door ruangrupa, RRREC Fest,
Open the space up to support your Jakarta, 2010 - ongoing
On how to work without a budget
friends, then to anyone else
– find people to work with who
Open it 24/7
are young, or who are looking for
Treat your space as a meeting point
experience, and are willing to work
Serve the public with a friendly
pro bono publico. Create a programme
approach.
that allows you to work off-budget.
Money is not necessarily the only On how to deal with the
form of support. neighbours – always buy your daily
needs in the surrounding area.
On how to find and work with
sponsors – creating a proposal is On how to create basic public
unlike writing a poetry anthology: involvement – make a programme
avoid using sentences that are too that relates to your surroundings.
flowery and rhetorical. A good
On how to communicate with the
proposal, most of the time, comes
public – publish your character.
from a good project.
If you don’t need to, you don’t have to.
On how to work with government
support – be careful with corruption
and manipulation: they are the
ruangrupa, Toko Keperluan,
experts. Trust no one. Anggun Priambodo’s solo exhibition,
RURU Gallery, Jakarta, 2010
30
Mujeres Creando, Graffiti, undated
Espacio para abortar (2014) [Space to Abort] starts

with an urban intervention, a public and participative
procession-performance against the dictatorship of
patriarchy that is exercised over women’s bodies. A
giant mobile uterus is paraded and then tem-porarily
placed in the Bienal Pavilion. Once inside the Bienal,
the idea for it is to open a space for debate and dia-
logue. In other words, the project creates a platform
for discussing the meaning of abortion, the colonisa-
tion of the female body and what free choice, the right
to decide and freedom of conscience actually mean
in contemporary democracies – especially those in
South American countries where abortion is illegal
and penalised.
Founded in La Paz in 1992, Mujeres Creando
is an internationalist movement of working women
(prostitutes, poets, journalists, market sellers,
domestic workers, artists, dressmakers, teachers, etc.)
fighting against sexism and institutionalised patriarchy
in Bolivia and the rest of the world. With this goal, the
members of Mujeres Creando operate like guerrilla
fighters, opening spaces of visibility and uncovering
others with their bodies, in the street, in the mass
media, and in international contemporary art spaces,
inserting iconic slogans in its ideological circuits, for
instance: ‘You can’t decolonise without depatriarchis- Mujeres Creando, Útero ilegal, 2014
ing!’, or ‘There is nothing more similar to a right-wing [Illegal Uterus]
sexist than a left-wing sexist!’
31
Mujeres Creando, Graffiti, undated
Yeguas del Apocalipsis, Casa

particular, 1989 [Private Home]
Mujeres Creando, Útero ilegal, 2014 [Illegal Uterus]

32
33
IN THE CITY OF SÃO PAULO, THERE IS A PLACE WHERE THE COURSE OF THE TRAIN LINES BISECTS, ONLY
TO COME TOGETHER AGAIN FURTHER AHEAD. THIS UNION-SEPARATION-UNION CREATES A WALLED SPACE
SHAPED LIKE AN EYE, AND INSIDE THIS EYE STANDS THE LAST FAVELA IN DOWNTOWN SÃO PAULO,
FAVELA DO MOINHO. FOR ABOUT THIRTY YEARS, IT HAS OCCUPIED THE RUINS OF
THE OLD MOINHO MATARAZZO (‘MATARAZZO MILL’) AND WAS ONCE HOME
TO OVER 1,200 FAMILIES. A DIRECT TARGET OF REAL-ESTATE SPECU-
LATION AND ‘GENTRIFICATION’ PROJECTS, THE COMMUNITY OF MOINHO
CONTINUES TO RESIST IN ONE OF THE MOST HIGHLY VALUED AREAS OF
THE CITY, THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF CAMPOS ELÍSEOS.
THE HEART IS
BELOW AND TO
IN DECEMBER 2011, THE FAVELA DO MOINHO BECAME
THE LEFT.
KNOWN NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY BECAUSE OF
A LARGE FIRE THAT AFFECTED AROUND FIVE HUNDRED
FAMILIES AND CUT THE OCCUPIED AREA IN HALF.
THIS FIRE OCCURRED DURING THE SAME YEAR IN
WHICH SEVERAL OTHER FAVELAS IN SÃO PAULO
– ALL LOCATED IN AREAS OF GREAT INTEREST
TO THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY – WERE ALSO
STRUCK BY FIRES.
ON 31 DECEMBER 2011, THE CITY HALL GOT A PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION TAKING POSSESSION OF PART OF THE
LAND, ALLEGING THAT THE BUILDING HAD TO BE DEMOLISHED BECAUSE IT WAS IN DANGER OF
COLLAPSING. THE AREA WAS THEN SECTIONED OFF BY WOOD SCA-
FFOLDING THAT CUT THE FAVELA FROM END TO END AND MADE IT HARD
FOR RESIDENTS TO RETURN TO THEIR PLOT. NOT ONLY WAS THE BUILDING
NOT ON THE VERGE OF COLLAPSE, BUT THE SIX HUNDRED KILOGRAMMES
OF DYNAMITE THEY USED TO TRY TO DEMOLISH THE HUNDRED-YEAR-OLD
STRUCTURE DID NOT KNOCK IT DOWN. BUT STILL, CITY HALL DECIDED TO
CONTINUE THE DEMOLITION MANUALLY. THE SCAFFOLDING WAS REPLACED
BY A CONCRETE WALL THAT WAS EIGHT METRES TALL TO DEFINITIVELY
PREVENT RESIDENTS FROM REBUILDING THEIR HOMES AND, ACCORDING
TO A REPORT FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ITSELF, LEFT THE COMMUNI-
TY WITHOUT AN ESCAPE ROUTE IN CASE OF ANOTHER FIRE. AFTER
SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO ESTABLISH A DIALOGUE WITH THE MUNICIPAL
ADMINISTRATION, ON 4 AU-
GUST WE DECIDED TO TAKE THE
WALL DOWN WITH OUR OWN HANDS
AND CLEAR AN ESCAPE ROUTE
OURSELVES. THIS ACT BECAME
KNOWN AS THE ‘FALL OF THE
WALL OF SHAME.’
‘THE FIRE STARTED AT THE SAME TIME IN DIFFERENT

PLACES AND IN LESS THAN TEN MINUTES IT HAD SPREAD. THE BUILDING WAS
MADE OF BRICK. THERE’S NO WAY IT WOULD HAVE CAUGHT FIRE THAT WAY UNLESS
THERE HAD BEEN SOME FLAMMABLE LIQUID THERE. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TOOK OVER AN HOUR
TO GET THERE AND WHEN THEY DID THEY HAD NO WATER. ALL OF A SUDDEN, WE SEE THE MAYOR ON
TELEVISION SAYING THAT IT HAD BEEN AN ACCIDENT CAUSED BY A DRUG ADDICT. WE SAW AT LEAST THIRTY
CHARRED BODIES WRAPPED IN PLASTIC BAGS BEING CARRIED OUT THE BACK OF THE FAVELA BY POLICE. LOTS
OF THEM WERE CHILDREN AND VARIOUS RESIDENTS TALKED ABOUT A FAMILY THAT DIED HUGGING ONE ANOTHER.
I SAW THE FIRE CHIEF BURST INTO TEARS, EVEN THEY COULDN’T TAKE SEEING WHAT WAS GOING ON. THIS
FIRE WAS NO ACCIDENT, IT WAS A CRIME, MOST LIKELY COMMITTED BY PEOPLE IN POWER WHO HAVE INTERESTS
IN THAT AREA. ON TOP OF ALL THESE INDICATIONS THAT THE FIRE WAS PLANNED, WHAT HAPPENED NEXT ONLY
SERVES TO SUPPORT THIS THEORY.’
CASA PÚBLICA (‘PUBLIC HOUSE’) IS AN URBAN INTERVENTION RESULTING FROM AN ARTISTIC RESIDENCY
AND RESEARCH IN FAVELA DO MOINHO, WHICH COMMENCED IN SEPTEMBER 2012. SINCE THEN, WE HAVE BEEN
ABLE TO EXPLORE THE AREA’S ISSUES AND PROBLEMS
MORE DEEPLY, AS WELL AS GET TO KNOW LOCAL FIG-
URES. AFTER A LONG PERIOD OF DAILY COHABITATION
AND OBSERVATION OF THE DYNAMICS OF USERSHIP IN THE
SPACE, WE BEGAN THE CONSTRUCTION OF CASA PÚBLICA,
BUILT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH RUBBISH COLLECTORS AND
RESIDENTS, UTILISING LOCAL TECHNOLOGY, THE RE-
SOURCES AVAILABLE IN THE COMMUNITY AND MATERIALS
DISCARDED THROUGHOUT THE CITY. SINCE JUNE 2013,
THE SPACE HAS SERVED AS AN IMPORTANT SPACE FOR
UNITING, ARTICULATING AND FACILITATING VARIOUS
CULTURAL AND POLITICAL AGENTS INSIDE AND OUTSIDE
THE COMMUNITY.
COMBOIO (‘CONVOY’) IS AN INDEPENDENT AND AU-

TONOMOUS PROJECT OF RESEARCH AND URBAN INTER-
VENTION, WHICH HAS BEEN OPERATING IN ‘INFOR-
MAL’ SPACES IN CENTRAL SÃO PAULO SINCE 2010.
‘VERMELHÃO’ (‘REAL RED’) IS THE NAME GIVEN BY INHABITANTS TO A SPACE LOCATED NEXT TO THE OVER-
PASS USED MAINLY BY THE CHILDREN OF MOINHO AS A LEISURE AREA. AFTER THE LAST BIG FIRE THAT RIPPED
THROUGH THE FAVELA IN SEPTEMBER 2012, THIS SPACE
BECAME A DUMPING GROUND FOR GARBAGE, SCRAP METAL
AND ASHES. WITH THE RECONSTRUCTION OF NEIGHBOUR-
ING HOUSES, THE SURROUNDINGS WERE ONCE AGAIN OC-
CUPIED. THUS, THE DESIRE TO REBUILD AND RECLAIM
THIS IMPORTANT PUBLIC SPACE EMERGED. PARQUE VER-
MELHÃO (‘REAL RED PARK’) IS A DIRECT EXTENSION AND
DEPLOYMENT OF CASA PÚBLICA’S EFFORTS.
EVEN WITH THE LACK OF

SPACE BEING A SERI-
OUS PROBLEM AND WITH
HOUSES BUILT ON TOP OF
ONE ANOTHER, THERE IS
STILL ONE SPACE WITH
THAT HAS BEEN MAIN-
TAINED AND PRESERVED
BY THE
COM-
MUNITY
FOR
THE
PAST
THIRTY
YEARS: THE SOCCER FIELD.
FOR THE 31ST BIENAL DE SÃO PAULO, WE PROPOSED AN
ACTIVATION OF THIS SPACE THROUGH OPEN MEETINGS AND
EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOPS.
Agência Popular de Cultura
Solano Trindade Sarau Verso em Versos
One of the cultural manifestations that take place every
The agency’s mission is to foment popular culture by third Friday of the month at Espaço Comunidade, Sarau
making artistic production viable in the outer city limits Verso em Versos is a meeting of poets, musicians, actors,
of São Paulo, building strategies for self-funding and eco- visual artists and all parties interested in expressing
nomic sustainability. Through this initiative, we seek to their art through poetic, musical, graphic or perfor-
understand more about the relationships of production, mance-based interventions.
consumption and commercialisation of services, prod-
ucts and cultural knowledge, and thus contribute to the
development of the local creative economy. In the follow-
ing pages there are details of a few of the cultural groups
and activities we work with.
Sarau da Kambinda
Held at Teatro Popular Solano Trindade in the city of
Embu das Artes, its mission is to promote poetry and
meetings between poets and artists that are part of the
cultural movement in the city’s periphery and of African
origin.
Sarau do Binho
With a history of over eight years, O Sarau do Binho
unites poets, singers, actors and other popular artists
and people from the periphery, establishing itself
as an important feature on the city of São Paulo’s
cultural calendar. The sarau started in a bar. At that
time, there were no cultural spaces in the periphery
where encounters of this kind could take place. To this
day, it is difficult to utilise public spaces for cultural
38
activities at night. The sarau gave way to many ideas O Praçarau
and actions such as Postesia and Postura, an artistic O Praçarau has been held in São Paulo’s south zone for
practice which sets up signs with poetry and visual the past four years. Today, it is the only outdoor sarau,
arts in public areas of the city; the installation of a attracting a vastly diverse audience to its performances.
Music, dance, poetry, performances, all blended
together in a space open to the public. The sarau
features the support of several partner groups as well
as the local residents.
community library, also in the Campo Limpo region; or

the activities of Bicicloteca, which has so far distributed
over 5,000 books in houses and bus stops in the
neighbourhood.
Poetas Ambulantes
Inspired by the street vendors who circulate among the
collectives, offering their merchandise, Poetas Ambulan-
tes (literally ‘Wandering Poets’) offer passengers spoken
and written poetry, in exchange for attention, emotion
and interaction. Each month the poets follow a different
itinerary.
Sarau Preto no Branco

Comprised of a group of young people from Jardim
Ibirapuera, it was created in 2012 specifically to encour-
age young people, poets and artists from the region to
express themselves. The group’s members are all under
21, making the event a way to demonstrate that the
youth has something to say, addressing such themes as
inequality, corruption and prejudice in their poetry and Batalha TSP
music. Founded in Taboão da Serra in August of 2012, TSP is
a collective for the dissemination of culture. TSP’s main
mission is to foment the culture of independent hip-hop
in São Paulo’s periphery.
39
Bonde Sak Funk O Menor Sarau do Mundo
MC Spyke and MC Preto have been rapping together A poetry intervention that involves one poet and an audi-
since 2007. With a repertoire of lyrics that deal with ence of up to three people beneath an umbrella. With
everything from social issues – such as daily life in their a duration of one minute and twenty seconds, the poet
community – to the reigning style of baile funk in São recites three short poems of his or her authorship with a
Paulo, ‘funk ostentação’, they stand out for their socially- high factor for stunning the public.
conscious funk.
Sarau A Plenos Pulmões

Organised by Marcos Pezão and Dona Otília, it is held at
a variety of venues in the city of São Paulo, featuring the
participation of the many poets that have followed the
sarau movement for over fifteen years. Marcos Pezão
believes in a literature that builds bridges between the
city’s inhabitants and breaks down territorial prejudice. Coral Guarani Xondaro
It is a performance of religious chants for children,
taught by the village elders, which mainly speak of the
religious myth of the Terra Sem Mal (‘The Land of No
Evil’), a sacred place for the Guarani people, symboli-
cally located on the other side of the ocean, and the
moral values which should guide the lives of each of the
community’s members.
Treme Terra Escultura Sonoras

For 22 years Aderbal Ashogun has been promoting
actions that bring together visual artists, masters of
popular culture and religious leaders from traditional
communities and peoples. His best-known work is
O Treme Terra Esculturas Sonoras. The intervention
combines percussion, rhythm, poetry, urban culture and
candomblé culture in an ‘Ancestral Flash Mob’.
Narra Várzea
In Brazil, football emerged as futebol de várzea (‘field
football’), back when the fields weren’t regulated and
didn’t have set rules. The organisation of this amateur
sport gave way to the first Clubes de Várzea, basically
informal associations and meeting places for friends
from the city’s ghettos and outlying communities.
Balé Capão Cidadão

The project offers workshops of different dance styles
(classic ballet, theatre-dance and street dance) to chil-
dren and teenagers from the Jardim Valquíria’s commu-
nity, through the Capão Cidadão ngo.
40
Círculo Palmarino
Círculo Palmarino is a national political chain of the
black power movement that emerged in 2006 to combine
the efforts of those who believe in a new, fair and egali-
tarian society in which black people can be subject to
their own history. Present in the states of Bahia, Espírito
Santo, Rio de Janeiro, Sergipe and São Paulo.
Comunidade Cultural Sambaqui

Since 2003, the collective has been dedicated to the
research and maintenance of Afro culture in São Paulo.
Its practices intensify the public contact with traditional
masters inside the communities and at the Sambaqui ter-
reiro, and also to promote this culture through presenta-
tions, workshops and the transmission of knowledge. Sarau O que Dizem os Umbigos?!
Today, the mass culture of television and technology
rules, human relationships are more and more limited
to the individual realm, and we end up distancing
ourselves from dialogues, exchanges of experiences
and the exercise of listening; let us stop ‘gazing at
our navels so much and start dialoguing with other
people’s navels’.
Sarau Poesia na Brasa

Since 2008, Sarau Poesia na Brasa has been regularly
holding saraus inside a bar (first Bar do Cardoso and
then Bar do Carlita), as well as schools and cultural
centres. They have released six books and the historical
book Tambores da Noite by the great black poet Carlos
de Assumpção. In their meetings, drumming and oral Núcleo de Dança Pelagos
expression are the main vehicles for communion, thus The Núcleo was created in 2010 by the hands of Projeto
reclaiming traditions that are thousands of years old. Arrastão and the nowadays-professional ballet dancer
Rubens Oliveira. The project has the purpose of initiating
teens between fifteen and eighteen years of age in their
corporal development and of promoting a deepest con-
nection between art and general culture.
41
Open Meetings
LIMA, Peru
22 NOV 2013 – El Galpón Espacio
in collaboration with: Miguel A. López
report: Florencia Portocarrero and Horacio Ramos
LONDON, England
10 JUN 2014 – Whitechapel Gallery
in collaboration with: Sofia Victorino
report: Helena Vilalta
MADRID, Spain
20 FEB 2014 – Museo Nacional Centro de Arte
Reina Sofía (mncars)
in collaboration with: Jesús Carrillo
reports: Francisco de Godoy and Laura Vallés
BOGOTÁ, Colombia
31 JAN 2014 – FLORA ars + natura
in collaboration with: Jose Roca
BRASÍLIA, Brazil
HOLON, Israel 14 AUG 2014 – Beijódromo –
20 FEB 2014 – The Israeli Center for Digital Art Universidade de Brasília (UnB)
SANTIAGO, Chile SÃO JOSÉ DO RIO PRETO, Brazil

12 MAR 2014 – Museo de Arte Contemporáneo NOV 2014 – sesc São José do Rio Preto
(MAC), Facultad de Artes, Universidad de Chile
SÃO CARLOS, Brazil

24 MAY 2014 – sesc São Carlos
in collaboration with: Sandra Frederici and
Sandra Leibovici
report: David Sperling
SOROCABA, Brazil
26 APR 2014 – sesc Sorocaba
in collaboration with: Katia Pensa Barelli
and Sandra Leibovici
report: Ellen Nunes
42
BELÉM, Brazil
19 DEC 2013 – Instituto de Artes do Pará (iap)
in collaboration with: Orlando Maneschy
report: Maria Christina Barbosa
FORTALEZA, Brazil
7 NOV 2013 – unifor
in collaboration with: Adriana Helena
report: Luciana Eloy
RECIFE, Brazil
13 NOV 2013 – Espaço Fonte
in collaboration with: Cristiana Tejo
reports: Olívia Mindêlo and Paulo Tarso
SALVADOR, Brazil
23 JAN 2014 – Museu de Arte
Moderna da Bahia (mam-ba)
in collaboration with: Marcelo Rezende
reports: Ludmilla Britto and Rosa
Gabriela de Castro Gonçalves
BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil

6 FEB 2014 – Museu Mineiro
in collaboration with: Júlia Rebouças
report: Francisca Caporalli
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil

6 JUL 2014 – Largo das Artes
in collaboration with: Consuelo Bassanesi
report: Icaro Ferraz Vidal
SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL

6 AUG 2013 – Bienal de São Paulo
Curatorial Perspectives
20 AUG 2013 – Bienal de São Paulo
The Art Market
SANTOS, Brazil
30 NOV 13 – Casa do Povo
OCT 2014 – sesc Santos
Art and Education
reports: Daniela Gutfreund and Sabrina Moura
22 MAR 2014 – sesc Pompeia
The City and Its Spaces
in collaboration with: Daniela Avelar and Sandra Leibovici
reports: Joana Zatz Mussi and Ligia Nobre
PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil 26 JUL 2014 – sesc Belenzinho
11 OCT 2013 – Santander Cultural The Production of Discourse in Brazil
in collaboration with: Bernardo de Souza in collaboration with: Mauro Lucas
reports: Luísa Kiefer and Michelle Sommer report: Isabella Rjeille
43
The Open Meetings are a series of encounters
organised by the 31st Bienal’s curatorial and
Educativo Bienal teams in collaboration with
individuals and institutions throughout Brazil and
other international locations, in which people
involved in art, culture and activism gather to
discuss fundamental concerns and urgencies of
their own. These meetings, structured as an open
dialogue, work both as a research tool and a critical
assessment of the curatorial process, engaging
artists, critics, curators, cultural organisers and
others in a process that renders open the process
of organising the 31st Bienal. Each of the meetings
adopts different formats in order to explore the
diverse possibilities of public discussion forums, and
in response to contrasting urgencies. They formulate
diverse questions and expose the intentions,
workings and developments within the development
of the 31st Bienal. All the meetings have been
critically assessed by commissioned reviewers, with
the resulting material made available through the 31st
Bienal’s website, providing access to the curatorial
process as an open pedagogical process.
44
Week One: Writing Histories Week Two: Conflict Zones
Dates: 27–31 January Dates: 13–17 May

Monday to Friday, 14h–20h Tuesday to Saturday, 14h–20h
Location: Centro Cultural São Location: sesc Vila Mariana
Paulo and visit to Pinacoteca do Guests: Cauê Alves, Daniel Lima,
Estado de São Paulo Luisa Duarte, Max Jorge Hinderer
Guests: Ana Longoni, Ivo Mesquita Cruz and Ricardo Basbaum
and Walid Raad
Tuesday:
Monday: Introduction First part: Galit Eilat – Ethical
First part: Introduction to the work- Codes in Conflict Zones
shop, aims and structure Second part: Presentation of group
A Toolbox Second part: Short presentations projects
by the participants
for Cultural Wednesday:
Tuesday: Exhibitions Histories/ First part: Max Jorge Hinderer
Organisation Biennial Histories Cruz – Progressive Institutions
First part: Charles Esche and Pablo Second part: Presentation of group
Lafuente – On Writing the History projects
A Toolbox for Cultural Organisa- of Exhibitions: What Does It Mean,
tion, part of the 31st Bienal educa- How Can It be Done? Thursday:
tion programme, is a three-week Second part: Charles Esche – On First part: Luisa Duarte and Cauê
workshop extended over 10 months Writing the Histories of Biennials Alves – Negotiating the Brazilian
in 2014. This workshop gives Context
sixteen young curators, artists, Wednesday: Between Art and Second part: Presentation of group
writers, educators and/or cultural Politics: Argentina projects
activators (selected after an open First part: Ana Longoni – Between Third part: Oren Sagiv – Questions
submission call) the chance to Art and Politics in Argentina of Architecture
engage in a critical exchange about Second part: Planning for
organisation and intervention in May week. Friday:
artistic and cultural contexts. The First part: Ricardo Basbaum and
aim of the workshop is to provide, Thursday: Narrating the Collection Daniel Lima – Collective Dynamics
share and compare tools for criti- (visit to the Pinacoteca do Estado) Second part: Presentation of group
cal engagement today; it intends First part: Ivo Mesquita – A History projects
to be an intervention, questioning of Art in Brazil: The Pinacoteca Third part: Monica Amieva and
existing modes of relating and Second part: Charles Esche Erick Beltrán – Surplus of Oblivion
operating, and investigating the – Three Museum Experiences
applicability of diverse strategies in outside of the Museum Saturday:
different contexts. First part: Nuria Enguita Mayo –
The participants in Friday: Art, Disaster and Fiction: On Contemporary Arab Represen-
the workshop are Ana Maria Case Studies from Arab Lands tations
Maia, Andrés Ennen, Carolina First part: Walid Raad – Scratching Second part: Presentation of group
Vieira, Caroline Menezes, Daniel (Arab) Art projects
Jablonski, Florencia Portocarrero, Second part: Goodbye drinks at
Gabriela Motta, Júlio Martins, Praça Roosevelt Week Three:
Lígia Afonso, Lorenzo Sandoval,
Lucas Oliveira, Michelle Sommer, Dates: 7–11 October
Mónica Amieva, Renan Araujo, Tuesday to Saturday
Rodolfo Andaur and Sabrina Location: sesc Vila Mariana and
Moura. The workshop includes the 31st Bienal de São Paulo
participation of the 31st Bienal’s Schedule of activities to be
curatorial team and guests, both decided by the participants.
Brazilian and international.
45
Educativo Bienal
Human relationships, thinking about life and art, in order not to lose the delicate nature of human
experiencing concepts, questioning, rethinking... contact. Educativo works closely with teachers,
these are Educativo Bienal’s duties in expanding the students, social educators and professionals in the
possibilities of education. With its management driven field of culture, inside and outside of the Bienal,
by poetic pragmatism, Educativo works, at once, in different spaces and on visits to other cities –
on a large scale and with small group immersions continuously seeking an exchange with different
– strengthened by partnerships – but always striving audiences. With a structure based on encounters,
How to
relate ... shared experiences,
r t is t s
meeting, eye to eye, of A
intersections between ying
n
a
formal and informal
n d by · Itinerancies · Accomp
education
shared
planning and
continuity expanded field colours
and exchange research,
crossover,
production and
renewal of content
collision
Sta
autonomy, the creative process,

on
relations between the permanent body l

ie na
and the permeable body al B
t io n
n · Educa
t io
E x h ib i
logue
in the barriers
· Di a
taff
lS
na searches
er
dialogue
n of Int
and construction fears

of meaning
experience contexts
atio
orm
poetics
· F
gs
tin e
Me
overlapping and psyche contemporaneity

o r m a tio n
construction of
new perspectives
desires
textures
s·F
interests
iti e
un
m
m
Co identities
n s in
ti o
ool s
· Ac trajectories
Sch
al
in concepts
en
Bi
hunger frontiers
narratives
voices ... to things
that do exist?
46
resources
publics
financial / material / immaterial / human
video
mapping social networks
site
research
make visible
to look report
photo
newsletter
points of view
experience
educational material
provoke
beyond walls
sensitizing displacement
RELATIONSHIP
itinerancies
planning
encounter
reflection
building networks
listening
dialogues
evaluation
communities
laboratory
exchange respond socially

seminar
continue
partnerships
make it happen accompanying

alignment
public / private power
dialogue and experience, our work is organised along – actions are invented every day that correspond
different axes of action. Educativo’s place is found to each one of the participants’ questions. These
in this area of pendular movement between the paths are drawn by staff members on the conceptual
micro and the macro. And this place is never static, maps presented here. The maps are drawn through
but instead dynamic – always in transit. In order to intense exchanges of experience, resulting in a
answer the question of ‘How to relate to things that network of relationships that make the work real and
don’t exist?’, the Educativo staff first considered the partially visible in an attempt to map out the various
question of ‘What exists?’, thus constructing a body connections present in an art biennial: in live contact
for the study and creation of different actions. The with the artwork, with other individuals, as well as the
dynamic is dialectic – between the how and the what inner connections that take place inside of us.
47
Erick Beltrán, O que caminha ao lado, 2014 [Double Goer]
48
Marta Neves, Não-ideia, 2002 [No-Idea]
49
Qiu Zhijie, The Map of Utopia, 2012
Qiu Zhijie, The Map of the City, 2012
50
Halil Altındere, Wonderland, 2013
51
Working with things
that don’t exist
This text is necessarily written well in advance of the opening of the 31st Bienal. There-
fore, it must be read as a collection of thoughts that outline where the development of
the 31st Bienal is at the moment, what has led our decisions and actions until now, and
as a statement of intentions for the project – a project that is grounded on the belief in
art’s ability to reflect and intervene in the ongoing processes of social change today.
As a team, we have witnessed the transformations that São Paulo and Brazil
are going through, as the economic and political developments of the last decade
translate into demands for greater equality and inclusion. The waves of social, politi-
cal and cultural actions that began in June 2013 have influenced our understanding of
what is urgent for an event like the one we are engaged in.
The ambition of the 31st Bienal is to address our contemporary condition (in
São Paulo, Brazil and elsewhere) through an articulation of artistic and cultural projects
that have a specific relation to the current moment – a moment that, together with a
deep feeling of disappointment about existing modes of social, economic and political
organisation, is seeing the emergence of many initiatives in response. It is, however,
still not possible to identify a shared imagination about how things could be different.
In the face of this, art might well have a particular responsibility to address things that
this political landscape doesn’t allow us to recognise or do, and make them part of a
new public imagination in order eventually to conjure them into existence.
These ideas provide the fundament for the 31st Bienal’s title: How to (talk
about/learn from/struggle with/transform/etc.) things that don’t exist. The title is both
a question and a proposition. Its changing formula entangles, through art, the mystical
and spiritual side of life with political and social ideals. What the existence of things
that don’t exist might mean can be grasped if we recognise that human understanding
and action are always partial, limited by expectations and beliefs. Some ideas or expe-
riences fall outside the dominant frames of thinking or doing – those which are com-
monly used to relate to what we consider reality – even when these excluded ideas or
experiences could be recognised by many. Embracing the necessarily partial nature of
understanding, the 31st Bienal focusses on those things, leaving a range of possibilities
for action and intervention open to participants and visitors. It is our hope that by set-
ting up an event in which existence can be collectively rethought, together we might
be able to relate the creations of artists to the wider context in which they appear. In
doing so we intend to highlight a dynamic social interaction – one in which art plays a
part in the reshaping of possibilities for the future and contributes to the unfolding of
new ‘natural’ orders that might challenge the current, dominant one.
52
Collecting images, transforming thought
Today, contemporary art activity extends to virtually all the spaces where life occurs.
The constitution of life – often a phantasmagoric process – and the presentation of
reality – often behind the veils of fantasy – are two of the most fruitful areas for artistic
reflection and action. And although the expansion of art practice to every realm is per-
haps overwhelming, this has also opened up spaces for experimentation that suggest
or incite other modes of intervention in our present.
The spaces of the political, of public policy and of the police, with their official
narratives, their mechanisms of control, their disciplinary institutions and their norms,
have been privileged fields of action for art for some time now. But there is a difference
today: the practices of transgression of the old artistic avant-gardes have transformed
into practices that are essentially activist. They are not just a critique of the system;
instead, they try to interfere, resist, instigate insubordination and undo the codes of
representation and action imposed from the centres of power. The goal of these prac-
tices is to identify the processes and apparatuses that define these codes and norms,
and to undermine them. Art today, in short, presents proposals that deconstruct and
replace any truth regarded as natural or transcendent: it unmasks the learned mean-
ings and techniques of the disciplinary apparatuses and the hegemonic discourses,
and proposes new understandings, new ways of thinking and doing.
Art can make present certain images and stories that might astonish those
who witness them, that question our grip on reality, that stimulate our critical faculties,
or put a seed of conflict in our expectations. These images and processes, construct-
ed through various techniques (drawn, recorded, digitised, slowed down, stopped,
repeated, cropped, etc.) are not new in themselves, but can still be striking in their
effectivity. They permit connections between diverse and distant contexts that are usu-
ally held apart, allowing new constructions of the present and offering meanings that
are not foretold in advance.
The use of images from our extensive cultural archive or from our hyper-tech-
nological present – interpellated through words or other images in diachronic montag-
es – is one of the most productive areas of practice today. Dealing with memory as well
as observation, works that perform such operations can achieve transformative poten-
tial, especially in places devastated by wars or dictatorships. In these post-catastrophic
spaces, images no longer represent, nor are they a reflection of what is around, but
rather an insurrectionary force that helps to express what cannot be said or what does
not yet exist within common sense. The potential for such insurrection is generated to-
day more easily in collectives – a way of organising and conducting work that is often
the choice of the 31st Bienal, from the curatorial team to many of the artistic projects.
53
Invisibilities and other exclusions
The actions of many artists today can best be understood by contrasting their im-
ages with those created by the media. The presence of media agencies in a place is
typically the symptom of a situation of crisis or the onset of a catastrophe, in which
the agencies are fundamentally transient. They attempt to capture iconic images of
situations considered urgent and depart when order is restored or the media attention
is exhausted. The reports and images are regularly made from a personal perspective,
humanising the collective catastrophic experience. The privileged human subjects who
make and receive these images not only misrepresent those who are represented, they
also silence and distort their voices, their stories.
In contrast, many works in the 31st Bienal deal with conditions in which the
harm that affects a population is presented as a chronic disaster, one with no end in
sight, one for which there are no plans for mitigating the effects. The crisis of repre-
sentation that the inadequacy of media images so accurately illustrates points at, first
and foremost, a struggle for representation, a struggle to be present in the world and
to exist within it with full legitimacy – a legitimacy that is not granted to many, in Brazil
or elsewhere.
Those who are invisible are excluded from the negotiation about how our
world should be organised, from democratic representation, even from statistical
analysis. They simply do not exist within the ‘key’ discourses: the dominant forms of
articulation that lead to decisions about life and death at governmental or corporate
level. The cultural field, and its popular forms in particular, are sometimes the only way
for them to secure a public voice. Modern art’s impulse to question the protocols of
visibility has not made itself available as a tool to these communities. But contempo-
rary art might do this, and some of the art projects in the 31st Bienal constitute at-
tempts to create presence for individuals, ways of life or communities that are margin-
alised from the main thrust of news media and public debate. These attempts bring art
into relation with other struggles, as a lever to transform the status quo, the ‘natural’
order of things.
Turning the ‘natural’ order of things
The story of the false messiah, Sabbatai Zvi, might be instructive here. A Jew living in
the Ottoman Empire in the seventeenth century, he developed a Judaism that over-
turned the order of rituals and piously refused to follow the sanctions about women’s
roles, activities on the Sabbath or consumption of certain foods. Forced to convert to
Islam, he was joined by some of his followers, who would be known as the ‘Dönmeh’,
or ‘Turned’. They constitute today, we think, an exemplary condition, one in which the
‘turn’ is a mode of existence, in which change is always, essentially present. The figure
of Sabbatai also highlights the capacity of belief to instigate a turn. Beyond all scien-
tific or economic arguments, recognition of the power of faith and ritual to change
normative responses runs throughout the 31st Bienal.
The notion of turn brings with it the idea of transformation. The turn, as a
process, is a moment when there is a change in conditions, yet a moment in which
54
the exact mechanisms and consequences of such change might not be clear. A turn is
often irreversible, but, an on-going process, it does not have a definite direction. There
is something disorderly about the turn and perhaps dishonest too – it relates also to a
certain feeling of inconstancy that has appeared when cultures encounter each other.
If transformation might seem profound and absolute, the turn brings it down to earth
and allows it to be human. The turn also works against fixed representation and legiti-
mating structures, it emerges as an urgent response to specific situations rather than
universal truths. It does not shy away from conflict and confrontation, but sometimes
avoids them to carry on turning.
The conflation of political, social, religious, economic and ecological crises we
are experiencing, the increasingly uneven distribution of power and resources, and the
feeling that we lack clarity about the means to enact real change, have resulted in such
situation of turn, a situation that might have the power to upset existing orders – not
by merely opposing or submitting to them, but by manoeuvring through and beyond
them. Art can help articulate the idea of such turning as a disruptive force; it can cre-
ate situations where the disallowed is recognised and valued. This is the condition we
also call the trans-: trans- for transgression, transcendence, translation, transgender,
transit, transsexuality, transformation… Such crossing of borders (a crossing that might
also be part of a journey) can happen through literal bodily (gender) change or differ-
ent mental states (systems of belief) – sometimes, even often, they come together.
Being in São Paulo, coming into conflict
Even if art is, as it seems, an effective tool to pursue such transformations and to mani-
fest the presence of new directions and alternative paths, this doesn’t mean that an art
event such as the 31st Bienal will eventually manage to enact a turn itself, and function
as an effective tool for transformation outside of its institutional walls. Can the Bienal,
as an event and institution, add to the spirit of active, critical transformation present in
São Paulo, a city very capable of blocking any process of imagination? A simple over-
view, an aerial photograph of the city, might reveal an urban mass without horizons,
difficult to navigate or to understand in its totality; an autophagic megalopolis, under-
going uncontrollable, often terrible transformations, but at the same time with solid,
fixed social structures of discrimination and domination.
The city’s capacity to immobilise is well exemplified by the frozen form of the
monument to the Bandeirantes by Ibirapuera Park. Erected in tribute to those who
undertook the violent mission to occupy Brazil from the seventeenth century onwards,
it is visible to many contemporary Paulistanos as they struggle from home to work
and back. Its tortured symbolism has been a site of struggle for native peoples, and it
remains a sculpture of intense confrontation, revealing the multiple beings that coexist
uneasily, fused together in a light, often powerless collectivity.
The various manifestations of conflict that have been leading to violence in
São Paulo in recent months are in part the consequence of an inability to deal with
the trauma of a turbulent history, whose birth is symbolised by the Bandeirantes. This
conflict resonates throughout the world, and many of the artworks in the 31st Bienal
take it as their inspiration or point of departure. Conflict often takes the form of a his-
55
torical condition that carries consequences for the present, such as slavery or general
oppression – yet contemporary forms of violence are often read in isolation from their
historical or social roots. One of the goals of a number of projects in the 31st Bienal
is to make apparent the causal links that are being ignored, with a view, perhaps, to
transform the perpetual cycles of violence into situations that can be changed through
collective action.
However, there is nothing inevitable in the relationship between the violence
of our age and the conflicts that might have caused it. Conflict itself, an essential part
of any agonistic system, can be a tool to modify those sequences. It is to be wel-
comed, as a way to raise the alarm, as a way to reveal, as a way to intervene.
A chance for transformation
The Bienal de São Paulo, originally a showcase for national and bourgeois cultures, has
also been, especially since its 27th edition in 2006, a platform that allows for experi-
mentation with the format itself. The 31st Bienal is taking place, almost exclusively,
within the Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion at Ibirapuera Park – a decision taken with an
experimental spirit, in order to test to what extent the pavilion can be opened to the
city that it has been a part of since 1957. But despite its very large size, the building has
its limitations – its glass walls communicate a transparency that also excludes. Like the
park where it is located, fenced to the north and east by a series of highways (an island
that seems untouched by public transport), its apparent openness emphasises that the
opportunities it offers are only accessible to some. Logistical impediments contribute
to a symbolic isolation from many parts and people of the city – an isolation that fol-
lows the lines of a class divide.
In the face of this, an awareness and defence of art’s ability to imagine things
differently, to suspend the state of things and point towards different ways of thinking,
seeing, feeling and doing, is essential. This does not imply a simple understanding of
art as an instrument for social improvement, but rather a focus on art’s ability to also
do something, or many things, beyond itself. Thus, a significant number of projects
in the 31st Bienal dwell on the possible futures – utopian or dystopian visions – that
become possible when those things that don’t exist come into potential existence.
Some artists enact a material transformation that shifts the nature of ‘matter’ so that
its shadowy, magical, alchemic properties can emerge from the pre-modern period
and allow for an experience that transcends the conditions we inhabit. Using more
directly interventionist tools, community-based or educational, others articulate col-
lective initiatives with a mission to rethink their responsibility in the social sphere and
to construct collectivities that do not yet exist.
But if art can be used in this way, could the Bienal be thought of as operating
in the same manner? The notion of tool has been recurrent in our words and actions,
in an attempt to reflect on and enact ways of working in contemporary culture today.
Tools are implicit in our title, in the ‘How to’ that we are proposing as a way of under-
standing what we might do with art, and what art can do with and for us. Tools also
provide a structure to our education material, a set of lenses and exercises that might
be put into practice by schoolteachers and students throughout Brazil, and in our
workshop ‘A toolbox for Cultural Organisation’.
56
If the Bienal is to be a tool, it should not be one at the service of a few. From
the hands of the curators, artists, the Bienal de São Paulo Foundation, state bodies and
sponsors, it can pass into the hands of people and organisations who might also want
to use or develop it, amplifying actions in which they are already engaged. These ac-
tions are often of a political nature, targeting at direct social change. They are usually
interventions in the processes that shape what we are and how we live together, such as
transport (how can mobility be available for all?), development (how should the places
where we live be constructed?) and education (how do we teach and learn, and for
what?).
A tool available for all would perhaps echo the ways in which cultural produc-
tion is made and disseminated in the periphery of São Paulo and other Brazilian cities
through cultural associations and centres, and through saraus, cultural events in which
poetry, music, dance and various activities come together, performed by individuals and
groups during one evening, in a radically democratic manner. Working in egalitarian and
collaborative ways, these cultural agents from the periphery show that art is much more
than what is presented in the official cultural centres of the city. The Bienal, one of these
official centres, cannot and should not claim this activity as its own, but it is capable, we
believe, of pointing towards the enormous capacity and diversity of the cultural scene
of São Paulo, and perhaps of suggesting new articulations that connect different ways
of making and, by doing so, imagining how we can make and share culture together.
The Bienal cannot be an aim in itself: the eventual participation of many individ-
uals, groups and cultural forms, all of them with different degrees of visibility and ways
of understanding cultural and political agency, should remind us that this event, big as it
might be, is just one step towards something much bigger. We hope that new ideas, ini-
tiatives, conflicts and collective modes of organisation will result from it, and that they
might contribute to an ongoing critical transformation of the world in which we live.
Benjamin Seroussi, Charles Esche, Galit Eilat, Luiza Proença, Nuria Enguita Mayo,
Oren Sagiv and Pablo Lafuente
57
58
Popular bus line Mambu – Marsilac, 2014
59
60
Popular bus line Mambu – Marsilac, 2014
Ônibus Tarifa Zero
The images on the previous pages illustrate an experiment with a tarifa zero (‘Fare Free’) bus that
was conducted in the São Paulo neighbourhood of Mambu on 11 April 2014. Mambu, while being
part of the city, has no city bus or school. Those who live there need to walk 14 kilometres to reach
the nearest bus stop and a basic healthcare post. For over a year now, they have been fighting for
improvements in their streets and for two bus lines in the area. The creation of these lines was ap-
proved by the townhall, but they were never implemented.
Organised in the Rede Luta do Transporte no Extremo Sul (literally ‘Network
Fighting for Transportation in the Extreme South’), a part of the Movimento Passe Livre (‘Free
Pass Movement’), Mambu residents were able to raise funds by organising bingo games and cre-
ated their own temporary bus line. The expenses for this were shared collectivelly and the bus
circulated without charging set fares to passengers. Those who had more money contributed more,
those who had less contributed less, those who had no money didn’t have to pay at all. In this way,
in a single action, Mambu residents reinforced the necessity for public transport in their region and
demonstrated how public transport could run in the entire city: Fare Free, with popular participa-
tion in the decisions about its organisation.
The expression ‘tarifa zero’ was proposed by engineer and musician Lúcio Gregori in the
early 1990s, when he was São Paulo’s secretary of transport under Luiza Erundina, the city’s first
mayor from the Partido dos Trabalhadores. The Fare Free bus project envisaged a small increase
in IPTU – the progressive tax charged on property – as a form of financing. Due to political inter-
ests, the project was never presented for voting and was dismissed by the media, despite the fact
that polls showed that a large majority of the population was in favour of tarifa zero, even if it im-
plied raising the IPTU tax.
Almost twenty years later, the expression was reclaimed by Movimento Passe Livre and
during the June 2013 events it could be heard in the most varied corners of São Paulo, spoken by
people from all walks of life. Despite the fact that, in São Paulo, the objective of the large demon-
strations that month was to revoke the 20-cent increase in bus, train and metro fares, the public
became aware of the movement’s long-term struggle against the very existence of these fares, and
the idea gained in popularity.
For Movimento Passe Livre transportation is an essential right, which has the potential
of articulating urban spaces and struggles in progress. For years now, the movement’s pamphlets
have featured the sentence ‘A city only exists for those who can move through it,’ suggesting that
circulation itself is what shapes cities, or that turnstiles stop many people from getting to schools,
hospitals, cultural centres, parks and other so-called public spaces. Transport could be funded indi-
rectly, through a system of progressive taxation. The taxation of wealth is necessary for the redis-
tribution of income and to decrease social inequality. Furthermore, it is the elite that most benefits
from the everyday commute of millions of workers.
To contribute to this process, as an artist, one of my projects at the 31st Bienal is the pro-
posal to São Paulo city hall for an experimental bus line that is free, circular and with no set destina-
tion, to run during the three months of the exhibition. In the place where the bus’s destination is
normally written, it will read ‘tarifa zero’ (‘Fare Free’). The bus won’t stop at the Bienal building,
because the intention here is not to discuss access to the Bienal. It is, above all, to suggest displace-
ment itself is place, and to encourage a different way for people to move around.
Realising this bus in the context of Bienal will not have the same beauty as the ‘popular
line’ organised by the residents of Mambu. But these actions, combined, may well, little by little,
institute a new imaginary.
Graziela Kunsch, May 2014.
61
Ana Lira, Voto!, 2012-ongoing [Vote!]
62
Dan Perjovschi, Save Roşia, 2013
Ana Lira, Voto!, 2012-ongoing [Vote!]

63
Every week since 1990, I have made drawings
about politics in a Romanian newspaper. For
the Istanbul Gezi Park Resistance I posted
drawings on Facebook. People shared my
drawings. Later, students from Romanian
universities occupied their schools. They
downloaded my drawing-comments and
displayed them around the occupied space. In
September 2013, thousands of young people
took to the streets against a catastrophic
gold mine exploitation. People I don’t know
downloaded my drawings, clipping them
to their shirts or redrawing them on larger
banners, and went to protest. For some
months I was a ‘drawing provider’ with a clear
function and mission. It was fantastic.
Dan Perjovschi
64
65
Wonderland
Fuat:
they’re at the gates
to knock down our neighbourhood
today it’s Sulukule
tomorrow Balat, Okmeydanı
Tarlabaşı, Gezi Parkı
time’s running out
they’re taking from the poor and
giving to the rich
knocked down the shanties to build
up expensive apartments
let art and music be your armaments
dissent for destruction
stop the demolition reprise x 2
c’mon yo.
what’s comin’ up now I wonder
Veysi: what’s cookin’ up now?
I carry that blood gloomy without the music.
I’m not settled in Sulukule but I live it’s all because of TOKİ and I present this band will question and they’ll
there my case cover up again
people here are anxious, cause it is we are only players and there’s art as it always is.
on the streets
the famous couldn’t do nothin’ but Asil:
be a groupie my home will be torn down too
stop listening now, just go back to Sulukule now belongs to bourgeoisie
your work the times have changed, those
we pissed on the footings of the looking down on Romani
newly built blocks are not called racist they’re called
cause I was pissed at TOKİ mustafa
sister Funda why don’t you you call it urban regeneration
introduce us. who’s that? it’s the downfall of the city
Sulukule couldn’t be destroyed with the corpse of my quarter in front of
a dozer me for five years
all these efforts of yours will be raise to our footing and do start
useless fighting
people come out and look at my easy to move the ones with money
hood what did you do for those in poverty
live here and never be bound by the instead of restoring the past TOKİ
world you should repair the mind of the
singing dancing shanty happy state
Juan Carlos Romero, you just stay at your villa and thank cause the damage I do is nothing in
Violencia, 1973-1977 [Violence] God. comparison
66
I’m not frightened only water could Zen-g:

flood into my home I ain’t saying come out and play
mustafa… your words can’t convince just hear me out
me you say you understand the worries
hire a rapper with the dirty money so give me an answer
that you exploited. life is blood and one day you have no
bread
reprise x 2 I don’t wanna ask you
what I see are all answers one day you supply electricity the
what’s comin’ up now I wonder they have their ghettos we live in next day you demolish
what’s cookin’ up now? slums here with a single curse of mine you won’t
without the music. my words are an avalanche that know your day from night
this band will question and they’ll come down pouring TOKİ turned it upside down
cover up again never hoped good could come from where’s my home you mean rascal
as it always is. your dime with a single beat of darbuka
all your talk is nothing until you the whole hood cheers up
come and live here Sulukule’s home to mad
I’m sorry but you’re not welcome.
reprise x 2
what’s comin’ up now I wonder

what’s cookin’ up now?
without the music.
this band will question and they’ll
cover up again
as it always is.
[lyrics by Tahribad-ı İsyan]
67
Juan Carlos Romero,
Violencia, 1973-1977 [Violence]
68
Juan Carlos Romero,
69
Éder Oliveira, Sem título, 2013 [Untitled]

Juan Carlos Romero,
Éder Oliveira, production process
70
20/5/2014 Serviço Estadual de Informações ao Cidadão
20/5/2014 Serviço Estadual de Informações ao Cidadão
Register of Solicitation of Information
Gabriel Mascaro Seabra de Melo,
your solicitation was registered on 5/20/2014 and you can expect an answer shortly.
Note the number
Registro of your de
de Solicitação protocol: 74862146865
Informação
Gabriel Mascaro
Protocol: Seabra de
74862146865 Melo, of solicitation: Received Date of Consultation: 5/20/2014
Status
8:47:43
Sua solicitação foi registrada em 20/05/2014 e em breve será respondida.
Anote seu númeroSão
Agency/Entity: de Paulo State74862146865
protocolo: Military Police
Protocolo: State Military Situação

74862146865
SIC: São Paulo Police da solicitação: Recebida Data da Consulta: 20/05/2014
20:47:43
Form of response: Electronic correspondence (email) Date of Solicitation: 5/20/2014
Órgão/Entidade: Polícia Militar do Estado de São Paulo
Solicitation:
SIC: Polícia
To the MilitarGeneral
honorable do Estado de São Paulo
Commander of the Military Police of São Paulo,
Forma
I, Gabriel deMascaro
recebimento Seabrada deresposta:
Melo (bearer Correspondência
of CPF 045.746.294 eletrônica and RG Data
– 95(email) da Solicitação:
6.355.778), based on item 20/05/2014
XXXIII of
article 5 and item II of § 3 of article 37 of the Federal Constitution and in articles 10, 11 and 12 of Law no.
Solicitação:
12.527/2011 – the Freedom of Public Information Law –, respectfully address Your Honor with the objective of
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que se constrói a partir
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ruptures would e aleatórias,
be implied by e dethe seusact movimentos
of filming while quewearing
investem contra
a police
o poder constituído. À representação distanciada pela qual operam os poderes constituídos, o poder
http://www.sic.sp.gov.br/Concluido.aspx 1/2
constituinte opõese de forma imanente, coletiva e descentralizada. A vida, investida pelo poder, é então o
campo onde se produz a própria resistência às formas de sujeição. A potência da vida, entendida como força
política, é capaz de produzir novos movimentos dentro das dinâmicas em que é apropriada. Dentro desta
gabriel-mascaro_en.indd 1 22/07/14 11:54
20/5/2014premissa, a imagem produzida pelos agentes policiais
Serviço Estadualabre uma série
de Informações de perspectivas paradoxais para a
ao Cidadão
própria noção de biopolítica no contemporâneo. Quais fissuras políticas estariam contidas subjacentes ao ato
http://www.sic.sp.gov.br/Concluido.aspx 1/2
uniform? Under what kind of aesthetic regime is the logic of institutional power over the body of the multitude
postulated? Under what kind of regime of laws is the ownership of these images inscribed in the Military Police
archives? Faced with these questions, I would like to request access to the information of the images produced by
the Military Police during the demonstrations of June, 2013. These images were produced by on-duty police
officers using iPads, cellular phones, GoPro cameras and digital video cameras. According to item I of article 4 of
Law no. 12.527, from November 18, 2011, information is considered: data, processed or otherwise, that can be
utilized for the production and transmission of knowledge, contained in any medium, material or format. If my
solicitation should imply any expenses, I can cover the costs, such as the purchase of an external HD, for
instance, to store these images. For these reasons, I request, in function of § 1 of article 11 of the above-cited
Law, access to the information of the images within the legal deadline of 20 days. In this act of filming the other
who is also filming, this almost performative corporeal game produces a strange code of tacit accord of visibility
and ‘limits.’ The camera is a weapon, but it is first of all a complex instrument in negotiating power, borders,
space, visibility, enouncements and desires to come.
Counting on your collaboration,
Gabriel Mascaro
Your solicitation will be attended in a PERIOD no longer than 20 (twenty) days, starting from the date of the
protocol of your solicitation, in accordance with § 1 of article 15 of Decree no. 58.052, on 5/16/2012.
58.052, de 16/05/2012.
The above-mentioned deadline can be extended for another 10 (ten) days, through an expressed justification, in
which case the interested party will be notified, according to § 2 of the same article.
Desenvolvido e hospedado pela PRODESP
71
A última palavra é a penúltima – 2
The intervention A última palavra é a penúltima (2008)[The Last
Word Is the Penultimate One], based on French philosopher Gilles
Deleuze’s text The Exhausted (1992), was presented in the city of
São Paulo on 13, 15 and 26 April 2008. The intervention was di-
rected by Eliana Monteiro (Teatro da Vertigem) in collaboration
with Companhia Zikzira of Teatro Físico, based in Belo Horizonte
and London, and LOT, a Peruvian group who specialise in per-
formance. The chosen scenic space was the underground area
beneath Rua Xavier de Toledo in the centre of São Paulo, which
connects Viaduto do Chá with Praça Ramos de Azevedo and which
was closed over fifteen years earlier.
The themes of tiredness and exhaustion were addressed
through the lens of their relation to the underground passage
and its display windows, which belong to the old department
store Mappin. These themes were researched using the lan-
guage of display already embedded in the space: a line of sight
which crosses the other; the possibility of seeing and being seen;
between the act of looking and exhibiting oneself.
The projection of videos within the intervention also
interferes as a theatrical device in questioning this notion of
‘seeing and being seen’. The audience watching the performance
in the passage observed the images captured outside on the
street, while those on the street could regard the actions of the
performers via cameras located underground.
Neither a novelty nor a repetition, a new work, directed
by Eliana Monteiro and Antonio Araújo (also from Teatro da
Vertigem), proposes to review what has already been done in a dif-
ferent time, reflecting on a space from the past: the underground
passageway of Rua Xavier de Toledo in the centre of São Paulo.
Six years later, the issues related to exhaustion – starting
again from the text by Deleuze which inspired A última palavra é
a penúltima in 2008 – gain potential in the face of contemporane-
ity, especially social conditions and their future perspectives, and
the horizons of expectations for what is possible. This is the mo-
ment for questioning the idea that there is a possible potency that
resides in exhaustion. Meanwhile, the reworking of this project
poses the question: have we not reached the limit of control and
hyper-vigilance? Are we not exhausted, in both senses of the word?
In the current situation, what is it like to work with the same space
and conceptual references, but in these other conditions?
To reflect on these questions in the construction of this
work, the element of collectivity, and the characteristics of our
work in general, will play a significant role. The intervention will
ask for dynamic participation from the public in two different
ways: spontaneously – reutilising the space between Viaduto do
Chá and Praça Ramos de Azevedo as a passageway – and as a
spectator/actor that participates in a game of staging inside the
display windows. The role of the public, of the passer-by and the
actor are all blended. All are positioned in relation to one another,
in seeing and being seen, while altogether occupying a space de-
signed for a public service which, nevertheless, remains unused.
Teatro da Vertigem
72
Teatro da Vertigem, A última palavra é a penúltima, 2008 [The Last Word Is the Penultimate One]
73
Yuri Firmeza, Nada é, 2014 [Nothing Is]
74
Yuri Firmeza’s film Nada é [Nothing Is] began with a
study of the city of Alcântara a place that has experi-
enced the manifestation of Brazil’s national projects
in different periods. In the eighteenth century, the
city was the first capital of the state of Maranhão,
the home of wealthy sugar and cotton barons. When
the colonial economy crumbled, Alcântara fell into
obscurity and only regained national attention in 1990,
when the Brazilian Air Force set up a launch centre
for satellites. The traditional celebration of the Divine
Holy Spirit, held every year forty days after Easter, is
presented as a feature of the city’s current vocation.
In this limbo in which it exists between the prosper-
ous past and the promise of an interplanetary future,
discourses of science and religion are mixed together
around the same ideology of faith in what could be,
but, for some time now, still is not. Yuri Firmeza, Nada é, 2014 [Nothing Is]
75
Mark Lewis, Invention, 2014
76
Invention (2014) by Mark Lewis is based on a simple, yet hugely provocative fictional assumption. The premise
of the work is that a parallel world developed in which the technologies of the moving image were not invent-
ed until the early twenty-first century. From this starting point, Mark Lewis’s work speculates about how we
would look at images if cinema, television and online moving-image platforms did not exist, or were just on the
point of being introduced. In collaboration with Mark Wasiuta and Adam Bendler and with cinematography by
Martin Testard.
Teatro da Vertigem, A última palavra é a penúltima, 2008 [The Last Word Is the Penultimate One]
77
Small World
An Interview with Yochai Avrahami
You travelled through three

different Brazilian states (Minas
Gerais, São Paulo and Rio
de Janeiro) looking for local,
top-down and bottom-up national
narratives. What did you (not) find?
I wanted to see museums and places

that commemorated atrocities
through visual and material means.
My interest in this genre is because
I see in these places a tension
between the will to impress and the and the Museu do Futebol. I also In general I got the feeling that
will to be reliable. Spectacle and visited samba schools’ workshops there is very little place to marshall
atrocities are parallel outputs of before the carnival, where they the commemoration of national
colonialism that the contemporary were working on horror themes; atrocities. When I compare Brazil to
world has inherited. I believe that and the park located on the ruins where I come from (Israel, Europe),
memory is flexible and therefore of Carandiru Penitentiary, where with its hundreds of museums
I generally put together bottom- a museum is being built nearby. In and commemoration sites, I see a
up and top-down practices. In the Minas Gerais I visited the Museu da major difference in terms of time
Western world, the big museums Loucura, which used to be a horrific and space. In Brazil, the atrocities
are generally the dictators of grand mental hospital, and the Museu do do not have a clear time or space
narratives; but small museums, Escravo. In Rio de Janeiro I visited limitation, at least in the way the
often established by private people a small part of the slaves’ harbour ‘West’ is used to. The atrocities here
or little communities, are able to exposed during infrastructure did not happen and did not end in a
show another kind of complexity works for the Olympic Games that clear and unambiguous way like in
now functions as commemoration Western Europe or perhaps other
site, thanks to a few engaged Latin American countries. This blurs
archaelogists. I also visited churches the possibility of pointing the finger
that display an accumulation of and allocating responsibility, if I may
objects brought in by worshippers as translate it into ‘Western’ terms, in
offerings of thanks for saving them a way that means that the narrative
from personal disasters. remains open.
in both technological and narrative

terms. I am most interested in the
forms of display and presentation
techniques – aspects of the
institution that accumulate power
and become stronger than the
narrative it is meant to support.
I was warned about the lack of a

narrative of atrocities in Brazil and I
can say that the warnings were right,
though the picture is somewhat
more complex. In São Paulo I visited
the Memorial da Resistência, Museu Yochai Avrahami, stills from research videos, 2014
da Polícia Civil at the police academy
78
Penitenciário Paulista). There are
some exceptions, like the new
permanent show at Pinacoteca
do Estado de São Paulo and the
Memorial da Resistência, that might
herald a change. Memory is flexible,
and probably this is a reason why
the museum is not the best way to
tell a story. Even when there are
the technological, educational and
political ambitions to produce a
progressive display, these quickly
become obsolete. This aging
process allows a positive moment
of reflection on the subconscious
and uncontrolled modes of displays.
Is the idea of the empty display the Did you find other way to tell I feel that in Brazil, the narrative
result of a ‘dis-encounter’ or is it a stories in Brazil besides the is stronger in non-material modes,
critical answer to the way stories traditional museum display? If and here is the challenge for me
are told in Europe or Israel? memory is flexible, how can one as someone who has a passion for
tell a story? Are you trying to effective installations.
Both. I have developed this work at answer this question or do you
a moment when I am working on leave this problem for museum
military and atrocities museums directors to solve?
in general. It started in military
museums in Israel, and continued There are some examples: the
with Holocaust and other genocide religious ceremonies of black
and massacre museums elsewhere. people that are used as channels for
My point of view and critical tools commemoration; allegorical scenes
are definitely a result of my origins, in samba schools and display rooms
and the idea of showing an empty next to churches where people
display came after two projects that I bring offerings after being saved Yochai Avrahami, stills from research
did using presentations and displays from disaster. There are definitely videos, 2014
which mix narratives from different attempts to establish narratives in
parts of the world. I do that to try to various communities. Yet as far as
create a situation that will not allow I can tell, the reason for making
people to easily make political use of museums here is the will to show
the material or create contemptible objects and artefacts, more than
lessons out of it. This comes from to tell a narrative. This is the case,
the Israeli reality, but also from for instance, of the penitentiary
resisting the aggressiveness museum at Carandiru (Museu
and authority of memory and
commemoration in museums in the
West in general. In addition, my
encounter with ‘weakened’ narrative
in displays here, which for me was
also a kind of release, brought me
to make a museum without images.
To all of that I can add my negative
approach of being a tourist-artist.
79
On Seeking Incuriously
Tony Chakar
When you ask people who come from countries that do not exist
anymore ‘where are you from?’, they lower their voice, lean their
heads forward and adjust their posture before answering. The answer
always carries with it, or so it feels, a kind of regret, but not quite; a
certain nostalgia, but not really; an embarrassment maybe, but then
again it might be the embarrassment of the person who is asking an
inappropriate question. If things in my region of the world – for which
we still haven’t found an appropriate name yet (the Middle East? The
Levant? The Arab world? The Islamic world?) – continue in the same
direction in which they are currently heading, I am pretty sure that
soon I will be on the receiving end of that question. Maps drawn in
secret offices by ‘experts’ who know nothing of the region (in the
sense of knowing deeply, and not simply having access to information
about this or that event or borderline) have already been made
public. On these maps, entire countries have disappeared, or have
been rearranged to accommodate the region’s latest craze: religious
communities. Everything around us is telling us that we are sitting on
a volcano that is about to erupt. But we go on.
There is no consolation for those who are constantly made
aware of the end of things.
In this situation, what does ‘art’ mean? What does it mean
to make objects, to call them art and to disseminate them as art?
What does it mean to hold exhibitions in specific spaces made for
the consumption of such art and then invite people to come and
look at these objects and exchange opinions? Furthermore, if these
questions seem farfetched and dramatic – after all we are still here,
still making art – then the last question would be: what does it
mean when someone who is living in this region of the world feels
compelled to ask such questions?
And why ask? If you are a contemporary artist living and
working in Beirut, things couldn’t be better: galleries dedicated to
contemporary art are opening, funds are out there if you know where
to look, a group of young collectors are constantly on the lookout for
new artworks to add to their collections, and so on. So where is the
problem then? Why ask existential questions when everything seems
to be going well?
The problem is simple: outside of this bubble, the world
is falling apart. A spring that wasn’t one; a people who substituted
80
its revolution with military rule – we even saw images of
demonstrations with kids wearing military boots on their heads to
signify their support for a general/leader/father, again; another
revolution in a different country opened the gates of hell, and
brought forth demons who cut heads off in the name of God. Demons
too are God’s creatures, aren’t they? And they carry out His will
sometimes, or so we are told.
As for Beirut, specifically, even a wave of suicide bombers
didn’t succeed in waking it up from its indolence; things happen
as they happen, from time to time the earth shakes a bit, and the
world just floats along – but the worst part is that someone who has
survived the wars of 1975 to 1990 cannot help but see the beast rising
once more. It is visible in the grim faces of passers-by, in the amount
of hate spewed out by literarily everyone, from politicians to your
neighbours and colleagues, to the regular ‘man on the street’ who
was euphorically celebrated during what was then called ‘the Arab
Spring’. They open their mouths and what comes out is hatred for
everything that is not them.
What can art do in front of such thoughtless, irrational,
unadulterated hate?
This question is, in fact, loaded. It assumes that it is indeed
art’s task to directly respond to events that are happening in the
political sphere – and these events are happening in the sphere of
politics, no matter how brutal and absurd they seem. That said, it
would be extremely pernicious to just explain away what is going on
in this region of the world by asserting that it is ‘just politics’. What
is going on is not neatly confined to one plain. It ‘overflows’, so to
speak – sullying everything that comes into contact with it. In other
words: what we are witnessing now in the Arab World, in the Levant,
in Lebanon, is not some metaphysical mega-event that cannot be
comprehended by human reason. It can. But at the same time, these
events establish unusual relationships with other social spheres, art
in particular, that cannot be simply anticipated by unassuming logical
deductions.
So the question is not, then, ‘what can art do?’, but rather,
‘where does art position itself?’ But then, how does art position itself?
The conversation seems to arrive here and stop, as if there were
two positions: either art is socially engaged, or it is not. The artists
who are socially engaged accuse other artists who are not engaged
according to their terms of ‘escapism’, of trying to make ‘art for art’s
sake’, of copping out, of selling-out to ‘the system’. The other artists
don’t seem to respond to the first ones, and when they do speak, they
81
usually come up with a strangely abstract discourse about beauty
and aesthetics, claiming not to understand why the artists in the first
group are making such a fuss about things … ‘because nothing really
ever changes’.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, this debate doesn’t take place
in real time, or even between artists themselves. It is an exchange
that mostly transpires within writings on culture in general and art
in particular in local newspapers, or from TV reports about this
or that exhibition. Social media, such as Facebook and Twitter,
share a bit of both. The effects of this dynamic should not be
underestimated; no matter how complex any discourse or theory
might be, it trickles down to the general public in this fashion.
Sprinkle this with some extremely simplified and dated notions,
such as ‘identity’, ‘authenticity’ and ‘developing tradition’, or some
fashionable ones, such as ‘ecology’, ‘sustainability’, ‘recycling’ or
‘gender’, and you end up with an incredibly dull, yet immensely
powerful and seductive discourse about art that is not only repeated
amongst the general public but adopted by many artists as well.
Again, this is how a discussion about art begins, and this is where it
ends: nowhere, surrounded by politicians who operate like arsonist-
firemen, suicide bombers hoping to have endless sex with virgins in
heaven, artists who want to be activists or artists who want to make
‘beautiful objects’ (read: ‘lots of money, quickly’), both unified by
their willingness to sell their art ‘in order to make a living’ and, of
course, a general and a specialised public who go like this, like that –
whichever way the wind blows.
Then what? Then nothing. We start over. And to start over
I will revert to a very old cosmogony, that of the fourth-century
Christian Gnostics. They too lived in a world that they saw as
structurally flawed; they too tried to make sense of our short time
on this earth; and they too, like many other mystics of different
religions, gave a special place to Lucifer – the most beautiful angel.
According to the Gnostics, this world where everything is entangled
(life with death, love with hate, war with peace, etc.) could not have
been made by God. In fact, this is not even a ‘real’ world, it is merely
an illusion created by the demiurge Sabaoth – the god of the Old
Testament – to entrap us and keep us from reaching the true God.
This is where the role of Lucifer begins. He rebelled against the
creator of this world, yes. But this creator was a false god. He does
want to destroy this world, but only because it is a world of illusion
and entrapment. In fact, as his name indicates, Lucifer is the Holder
of the Light, the Holder of the Black Light, the one which liberates us
not by giving us our freedom – after all, our freedom is ours and no
one else’s – but by taking it from us, by destroying all of our illusions
82
about this wretched world, by stripping everything bare until the
truth of our existence finally appears.
And this is how we continue: art is truth. And truth liberates.
Truth liberates because it destroys. Truth destroys all our illusions
about the state of our world. What it mainly destroys is hope. The
destruction of hope is not, as one might think, synonymous with
despair. In a capitalist system built upon speculation, hope is probably
the best commodity because it is the one that helps sell all the others.
But art does not destroy with explosions and hellfire.
In the video Of God and Dogs (2014) by the Syrian collective
Abou Naddara, the camera focuses on a fighter from the Free Syrian
Army. The video’s description on Vimeo is as follows:
A young Free Syrian Army fighter confesses. He says he killed

a man he questioned extensively, and knew to be innocent. He
narrates how he had to shoot a short-range bullet, before going to
bury him in tears. Then he promises to avenge the God who led
him to commit the murder. And he asks the director to stop filming.
The face of the fighter fills the frame. He is not looking at the camera.
We can see the smoke coming out of his cigarette. Suddenly he looks
at the camera and says, ‘I killed.’ As he looks into the camera we can
see that his eyes are red. His lips are twitching. The camera stays on
him for a few seconds, and then the image goes black.
I killed. There have been over 100,000 documented deaths in
Syria since the beginning of the Civil War, according to the UN, while
unofficial sources bring the number up to 200,000. And yet, this one
was different. This one, through the video, creates a pause, a rupture,
in the accelerating stream of events. The fact that the man killed
was innocent is of course important, but what arrests the attention
83
is the short sentence: ‘I killed.’ In simple past tense, the statement
is issued in the past, but it speaks about the future, and the fighter
is distraught because he knows this. He understands this time warp
– probably confusedly – but he understands it. He understands that
after the act of killing, he will become exactly like the ones he took
arms against. He understands that after this ‘I killed’, the Syria that
he dreamt of – a Syria free of hatred, tyranny and mindless, useless
murders by the hands of an absurd decaying regime – is destroyed.
It has been blighted in the bud, and the video has caught this terrible
moment. By blurring the thin line between the ‘good guys’ and the
‘bad guys’, between white and black, it has destroyed our illusions
of a ‘clean’ revolution: a romantic ideal that we, the ones witnessing
events unfolding from the outside, imagined or wished or even
sometimes acted upon. We all played ‘L’Internationale’ (or whatever
other revolutionary anthem in our heads) way too soon, way too
fast. We all wanted to get rid of Assad and his regime as quickly
as possible, and we all wanted to believe the cries of ‘The People
Want...’. But then, ‘I killed.’
Art destroys, but only insidiously.
Art is truth, because it speaks of the truth of our world, and
speaks of our world truthfully. In doing so, art can tell us the story of
a failed world – ours – and its possible dissolution. It can tell us that
there is another world, and that it is in this one.
Kafranbel is a small village in Idlib, in the north of Syria.
Before the start of the Syrian Revolution, very few people had
heard of Kafranbel. From the beginning of the revolution, Kafranbel
found itself at the heart of various events. The reason was simple:
banners. At the beginning of the uprising, the militants of Kafranbel –
meaning practically all its male population – were forced to flee to the
surrounding wilderness. There they would organise ‘demonstrations’
every Friday, holding the banners that they themselves had designed,
which they would then record, photograph and post online. So far
nothing is out of the ordinary – this has been the modus operandi of
practically all of the revolts that shook the world in the last few years,
from the Arab World to the Occupy movements, to Turkey, to Brazil
and so on.
However, Kafranbel’s notoriety grew more and more,
especially in the absence of a central space or square in the nation
from whence the voice of the revolution could be heard (like
Tahrir Square in Cairo, Taksim Square in Istanbul, etc.). What was
ingenious about the banners of Kafranbel is that they took a form of
political expression that is quite used (misused, rather) in the Arab
World and turned it against itself. Banners usually contain a simple
political message, typically supporting the powers that be; they are
84
hung high over streets, stretching from building to building, and
used not only to convey a message of support, but also to occupy
a space, to mark a territory. On the opposite side of that tradition,
the Kafranbel banners are movable, mobile – and in fact have more
existence in cyberspace than in the physical space of the village itself.
Their tone is usually sarcastic, but very poignant as well. One of
them, from 6 April 2012, says, ‘Concepts are topsy-turvy. The criminal
is the World’s spoilt child, while the victim is the people. May it be
decimated so we get it over with.’ In the picture, we see the men
holding the banner upside-down, while they make the victory sign in
reverse with their fingers – an inverted ‘V’, which is also an indication
of a rejection of an entire Arab history of paper victories. In another
demonstration, also in April 2012, all the signs and banners were
blank, marked only with the date and the words ‘Occupied Kafranbel’.
In this documentation, the men holding the banners also have white
duct tape on their mouths, and we see them marching silently, waving
their fists in the air. The reason for this, according to the organisers,
is that ‘there are no more words’. There are no more words.
To this day, though, the ‘demonstration’ from 14 October
2011 remains the most radical of all. Its banners were written in
Arabic, and the text reads:
Down with the regime and the opposition… Down with the Arab
and the Islamic Nations… Down with the Security Council… Down
with the world… Down with everything – Occupied Kafranbel 14 10
2011.
At first, these words sound indiscriminate and desperate, nihilistic

even. And why not? The wound is deep, very deep. But the more time
passes the more pertinent they become. Moreover, I have seen the
85
phrase ‘Down with the World’ written at least twice, once on a wall in
Cairo, and once on a piece of cardboard held by a kid in the besieged
Yarmouk Palestinian camp near Damascus. If one is in extreme dark-
ness, then one would learn to see with eyes wide shut, or as Maurice
Blanchot says:
He saw nothing, and, far from being distressed, he made this

absence of vision the culmination of his sight. Useless for seeing,
his eye took on extraordinary proportions, developed beyond
measure, and stretching out on the horizon, let the night penetrate
its centre in order to receive the day from it.
In this night that seems gloomier and more terrible than any night,
there is nothing more lucid than a call for the demise of everything.
Everything. All the structures of the regimes of oppression and the
world order that sustains them, as well as the petty negotiations and
conventions over 200,000 dead bodies and millions more refugees.
‘Shame on the world! Our blood in the international trade centres,’
says another banner.
Art destroys the world lucidly. But this doesn’t end here:
these banners became electronic images that circulated over the
social media networks, Facebook in particular. In the endless stream
of Facebook posts, these images act as singularities – singular
moments that would arrest our forever-restless eyes for a fraction of
a second, then disappear, drowned in the sea of humanity’s electronic
unconsciousness. This moment of encounter is key because it
engages the ‘spectator’/Facebook user, and leaves him or her with
few options.
One of those options is to simply ride the stream and let it
flow; another is to ‘like’, ‘share’ or comment – leading to what has
been termed ‘Facebook activism’; and the last one is the one most
86
filled with potential: to explode the stream of events, the ruthless
electronic ‘newsfeed’, snatching these bits of images and thoughts
and videos, and saving them from disappearing forever. This last act
would exercise what Walter Benjamin called our ‘weak messianic
power’, by finally including these moments in other narratives and
stories redeemed from the banality of social media’s equalising
space – thrown into the world, where they could potentially act
upon it. In that moment, the status of the Facebook user (or the
electronic ‘social media’ user in general) would change, from an
endless subjectivity locked within itself – permanently pondering
‘what’s on [his/her] mind?’ – to an active storyteller constructing his
or her story by destroying the simulated unity of the virtual world
(‘newsfeed’, ‘stream of information’, ‘video stream’) and using its
rubble as the building stones of something else.
Art redeems the world by destroying it.
My last point about this subject will be a simple piece of
information: neither Raed Fares (the man who writes the texts for
the Kafranbel banners) nor Ahmad Jalal (a former dental assistant
who does the drawings for them) are artists. I don’t think that they
view what they do as art at all. I also presume that trying to fit what
they do in any art collection or exhibition would be awkward, to
say the least. Furthermore, the question ‘but is it art?’ would be the
least interesting one. Whatever it is, it certainly came from outside
the realm of what we have come to call ‘contemporary art’. And
even without wanting to do so, the work of people like Fares and
Jalal establishes an unsettling relationship with what we know as
the ‘global art market’. Even if unaware of it, their practice breathes
new life into the debate on art and technology that seems to have
reached a simple but deadly conclusion: that art can survive at a
very low technological level and that advanced technology can only
propagate kitsch mass-culture. By making these banners and putting
87
them in cyberspace, the modernist equation between poïesis and
tēchne, where art either surrenders to technology (and is even simply
generated by it) or withdraws from it completely, becomes nullified
because it is incapable of taking into account these singularities and
their significations.
Art destroys, but only inadvertently.
And inadvertently art begins: a story is told in Cairo about
an old woman, a grandmother, who would during the time of the
revolution fill her basket with mangoes and make a round of Tahrir
Square (then besieged by the army, before Mubarak was forced out),
giving every soldier a mango, point to a demonstrator and say, ‘this
is your brother. Do no kill your brother.’ It is not certain whether or
not this actually happened – I never found any documents to support
the fact – but even if it did not, it was imagined, it was made possible,
and sometimes this has more value than the reality of the world-as-
it-is. What was imagined was an act of kindness, an act of love, but a
love that destroys: by giving fruits to every soldier, a communion is

created, not around the physically absent body of God, but around
the all-too-present bodies of the demonstrators occupying the square.
By pointing to a demonstrator – ‘this is your brother’ – the old
woman bound every soldier to a complete stranger and thus created
a relationship where, by definition, there should be none; where, in
principle, we are all moving subjectivities in an anonymous objective
crowd, oblivious to one another. This old woman has inadvertently,
and for a brief moment, destroyed one of the fundaments of public
space as we have come to understand them under capitalism – the
anonymity of the crowd that Baudelaire wrote so much about. Her
act simultaneously binds and separates – like the Primordial Eros in
Greek mythology – allowing us, the listeners, to imagine a new public
88
space built upon love. This means that she introduced this space into
the realm of what is possible, even if it was for a fraction of second,
like when a lightning tears the sky in the night and allows us to
glimpse the horizon, the limits of our world, and what is beyond.
Art destroys everything, lovingly.
To finish – a conclusion is impossible and even counters the
spirit of this essay, because the world it is describing is still in the
making – the starting question, again: how does art position itself?
There is definitely no final answer, only possibilities as a result of
situations that are still unfolding as I write. So I will add one more
possibility to the list, by borrowing words which are not my own,
words that were written almost 1,900 years ago, in the Gospel of
Thomas:
Jesus said: Be passer-by.
89
Prabhakar Pachpute, Dust Bowl in Our Hand, 2013
90
Leigh Orpaz, Breakfast, 2014
The dancers at Leigh Orpaz’s film Breakfast appear unperturbed by their exposure and vulnerability to the
technologies of control that surround them – the images were in fact filmed using an infrared camera, a
recording device sensitive to temperature rather than light and often used for military purposes.
91
Notes for Of course what I want to do in Bra-
zil will not foolishly be something
Those of Whom that I might do while in India. The
By Sheela Gowda thematic focus of displacements and
social divisions interests me. This
might not be a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’,
On a particular day in India Ayudha but the beginning of a conversation
Puja is celebrated. All tools, vehicles with the above set of issues before
and machines are stopped, cleaned, us. Looking forward to that. Trip: A six-hour flight to Rio Branco,
ritually anointed, decorated and Acre. One-night stay there. Then
supplicated to. My shaky but defiant five hours of car travel to Feizo
modernity allows me to do so with (frontier with Peru) and two hours
my car alone – a warm machine that by boat into the Seringal Veneza
makes me vulnerable. Many months extractive reserve to meet the
ago I visited the botanical gardens in seringueiros. You would spend
Berlin. Seeing familiar tropical plants a night there. The next day, you
and trees scientifically labelled and return through Xapuri, visit Chico’s
carefully maintained in glass houses house and a condom factory
built in colonial and modernist (rubber/latex). Chico Mendes
architectural styles set off an interest was a very important trade union
in the division between constructed leader who fought to preserve
modernity; the self-declared the rainforest. He was killed by a
necessary, violent expulsion of souls landowner.
from nature and things; and the
stubborn ghosts’ persistent attempts
to return.
An artwork, a construct of flighty Looking at your work and at your

ideas and materials, hovers in this previous emails, the education
intermediary space. department pinpointed some com-
modities that are fundamental to
I would like to think through understanding Brazil’s history that
with you the connections with might interest you. See below:
the material conditions in India,
which are so present in your work. – Pau Brasil
There is a related but still different – Rubber
material language that I think you – Sugar cane
would enjoy and might find ways to
respond to. We thought that you might be
interested in the rubber industry
My ignorant guess is that you and in rubber/latex as a material.
might enjoy the challenge of mak- It’s a material that has a very strong
ing something in Brazil, on the spot story to tell.
as it were, with the materials here Sheela Gowda, research images
but understood through your own A Franco-Brazilian company called
cultural reading. In other words, Veja/Vert-shoes works with Bia
a sort of free improvisation that Saldanha, the Brazilian Green Party
doesn’t necessarily rely on being co-founder and on environmental
‘true’ to the histories of what you activist who provides technical
encounter but enjoying the ‘irre- support for the rubber tappers
sponsibility’ of being elsewhere. and coordinates the rubber
These kinds of entanglements supply chain. Today, sixty families
between conditions, rather than of seringueiros are part of this
national or local accounts taking project.
precedence, are something that we
are interested in other parts of the
event as well.
92
The Amazon is the only place on When talking about rubber I came I am interested in voodoo places – in
Earth where rubber trees grow across so many people who have the idea of object transformation, of
in the wild. Since the 1960s, researched it. Information has its intensities. Objects become invested
the increasing use of synthetic limits, however. I have to work with with a kind of spirit and energy by
rubber derived from petroleum intuition too and the material possi- the intensity of feeling and attention
has resulted in a very low price for bilities and limits. – be it in ritual, vodoun or art.
natural rubber. The inhabitants of
the forest have thus moved from The tensions created by the stretcha- We can try to organise it. You
rubber tapping to more profitable bility of natural rubber – forms hold- are curious. Not vodoun (there’s
activities such as cattle-raising and ing, suspending, tying two points. very little or no vodoun in Brazil),
wood extraction, both of which candomblé and umbanda are
involve land clearing. The survival Cut saw-edged feathers. the Afro-Brazilian religions here.
of the Amazonian rainforest is Have you been to an umbanda or
dependent on more sustainable Skeletal framework of objects – candomblé gathering?
management of its resources. Latex bodies without flesh.
extracted from rubber trees is one I have not been to any kind of
of them. A fairer price paid for latex Kazimir Malevich’s Black Square gathering except that of the Bienal!
guarantees a better income for (c. 1923), distorted on a stretched
the rubber tappers and might be sheet of rubber: need to understand Açaí – a purple fruit of a palm tree –
perceived as an incentive to keep it better – the implications. boiled, crushed into a grainy paste,
trees up. very unusual taste. Açai (from Acre)
is known to be the best!
‘Everything that exists is an analogue

of all existing things.’ – Goethe
Pium – black fly.
Sheela Gowda,
research images
The Enslavement of Amazon Natives

During the Rubber Boom.
Rubber soldiers…
And the police used rubber bullets to

evict indigenous people protesting…
Rubber bullets – only sheathed with

rubber – the core is metal. Cause
grave injuries and have killed.
93
Céu
There are ten pianos (such as Gebrüder Zimmermann
Leipzig, Nardelli 2438, Brewster New York, Lux Rio de
Janeiro, W. Hagemoser Berlin, etc.) in ten tiny rooms
at the Colégio de Santa Inês. There is also a group of
children dressed in old-fashioned school uniforms in the
classroom. And an old nun. Yasmin, an eleven-year-old
piano player, takes the viewer on a journey through time
at Santa Inês school. The narrative is created through
music, silence and sound instead of spoken words. Dif-
ferent participants in different settings and times seem
to exist in parallel, independent of each other, connected
only by a musical theme (J. S. Bach’s Thema Regium),
a red thread throughout the story. The scenes come to-
gether to form a filmic tale about the particularity of the
place and the young participants, following the migration
of cultural forms, beliefs, values and patterns. The work
raises the question: how can Céu, as utopian space, be
thought of today?
Danica Dakić
Danica Dakić, Céu, 2014 [Heaven]
94
Danica Dakić, Céu, 2014 [Heaven]
Page from The Situationist Times no.5,

December 1964
Bruno Pacheco, Meeting Point, 2012
96
Nilbar Güreş, Open Phone Booth, 2011
Appliances and technologies, habits and beliefs, and the ways in which theses elements create and empower
forms of behaviour and action provide the common threads running through the work of Nilbar Güreş. The
video Open Phone Booth constitutes a kind of social fresco of her family village Bingol, in Turkish Kurdistan. It
gives, for example, an account of the simple practice of going to the highest part of the village in order to get a
better mobile phone signal, turning a contemporary technology into an instrument for a quasi-mystical exercise.
97
Gülsün Karamustafa, Resimli Tarih, 1995 [Illustrated History]
In the wake of the sudden disintegration of the Soviet

Hudinilson Jr. Union, Gülsün Karamustafa gathers the remains of another
Gesto IV (3ª versão), 1986 fallen empire in an informal visual archaeology where
[Gesture IV (3rd Version)] miniature portraits of sultans coexist with fragments from
kitsch wall carpets and synthetic velvet and silk fabrics
cheaply available on the streets of Istanbul.
98
Otobong Nkanga, sketch for Landversation, 2014
99
Wilhelm Sasnal, Kopernik, 2004 [Copernicus]
100
101
Lia Perjovschi, Art Education, 1999
Juan Downey, Video Trans Americas, 1973-1979
The idea for Video Trans Americas – a project span-

ning from 1973 to 1979 – struck Downey as a kind
of epiphany in New York. As a result, he went in
search of his roots, after having lived and worked
for almost ten years in Spain, France and the United
States. Downey’s initial intention was to make a
video-expedition from Toronto to Tierra del Fuego,
recording with his video camera the different cultures
that share the space of the American continent, very
often without any relationship with each other and at
other times, in open conflict. The working programme
included the recording of different urban and jungle
communities and afterwards projecting the footage
made in the very same communities as well as other
contexts across the continent. Finally, a single work
was edited exploring the interactions of time, space
and context.
Jo Baer, In the Land of the Giants (Spiral and Stars), 2012
102
Juan Downey, Tayari (Amazon Rain Forest), 1977
103
Val del Omar, Fuego en Castilla, 1958-1960 [Fire in Castile]
104
Thiago Martins de Melo, O suplício do bastardo da brancura, 2013 [The Hardship of the Bastard of Whiteness]
105
Romy Pocztaruk, A última aventura, 2011
[The Last Adventure]
Kasper Akhøj and Tamar Guimarães

A família do Capitão Gervásio, 2013
106
Romy Pocztaruk, A última aventura, 2011 [The Last Adventure]
107
Ymá Nhandehetama
Our people were always invisible. The indigenous lots of land, this one appears. And the Indian as human
people, the indigenous peoples, they always were in- being, the one who has rights, this one, disappears. He
visible to the world! That human being who goes hun- always disappeared. He has been vanishing little by little.
gry, who goes thirsty, the one who is massacred, who They say that we live in the era of rights, that Brazil is a
is persecuted, killed, there in the forest, on the roads, democratic country of rights. But if the indigenous, the
in the villages, that one doesn’t exist! For the outside indigenous peoples who live in Brazil – the same Brazil
world what exists is that exotic kind of indigenous, that they say is a democratic country of rights – is for the
the kind that wears headdresses, necklaces, the kind indigenous this state doesn’t exist! It is still, like a human
that dances, sings... Things to show the tourists. But being, invisible in this world. This right doesn’t exist!
the other kind who is there in the village, that one Our history has always been written with so much, so
suffers from a disease which is the disease of being much suffering, with so much pain, with so much blood,
invisible, of disappearing. He is barely seen. Both in in the past and in the present. With innocent blood even.
the world of rights, especially in the world of rights, The lines of history have been written in red, red blood,
and as a human being. He disappears. He drowns indigenous blood. Just as it has been for others, for black
in this sea of bureaucracy, in the sea of academic people. But, in our case, so many Indians are still being
theories. He is drowned in the realm of words, when killed in the villages that exist in the forests. And this
academia, the scholars understand more of the indig- one, he doesn’t exist! He doesn’t exist for the world, he
enous, of the Indian, than the Indian himself. He is doesn’t exist for rights, he doesn’t exist for people. He’s
rendered invisible by academia itself. He leaves... he an invisible Indian...
loses his voice, he loses focus, he loses his image. He He is like a cry of silence in the night: nobody
vanishes, he disappears. He returns again when there knows where he came from, what it is that happened...
is conflict. When the media looks for news to sell and nobody knows where to find him.
papers: they show the Indian killed, the Indian drunk
the Indian lazy like you see in all the books. The
Indian who wants lots of land, the Indian who has Almires Martins, Belém, 2009
Armando Queiroz with Almires Martins and Marcelo Rodrigues, Ymá Nhandehetama, 2009
[In the Past We Were Many]
108
109
112
Vivian Suter, view of the artist’s house / studio, 2014
Vivian Suter, view of the artist’s house / studio, 2014
Since leaving Switzerland in 1982, Vivian Suter’s

work has been closely bound up with the place
where she has lived and worked since – Panajachel,
Guatemala. Her studio at the Lake Atitlán was
originally a coffee plantation, now overgrown with the
avocado and mango trees that were first introduced to
protect the coffee bushes. From the upper floor of the
studio, Suter looks out over a subtropical landscape
of lakes and volcanoes, whilst downstairs the views of
dense vegetation turn her experience inwards. Often,
Suter leaves her works out in the open, where they
are changed by the sun, wind, rain and mud. It is this
environment, with its expressive fertility, that shapes
her paintings. The images Suter produces are not
realistic illustrations of the land, but partly abstract
contemplations of an almost mystical relationship
between the human and natural elements that are
constantly at play there.
Kasper Akhøj and Tamar Guimarães,

A família do Capitão Gervásio, 2013
113
Wilhelm Sasnal, Untitled, 2010
Wilhelm Sasnal, Untitled (Mine), 2009
114
Thiago Martins de Melo, Árvore de Sangue – Fogo que consome porcos, 2013 [Blood Tree – Fire Devouring Pigs]
115
Anna Boghiguian, Cotton White-Gold, 2010
Anna Boghiguian, Cotton Plantation During Mohammed Ali, 2010
116
Anna Boghiguian, The Building of the Suez Canal and the Auctioning of the Canal, 2010
El Hadji Sy, Archéologie marine, in production, 2014 [Marine Archaeology]
117
Black Soul Five centuries have seen you with And you have held at the baptismal
weapons in hand font
(fragment) and you have taught the exploiting bearing in one hand the torch
races of Vertières
the passion of freedom. while breaking the chains of slavery
You were the music and you were In San Domingo with the other
the dance, you marked out with suicides the birth of Freedom
but at the corners of your mouth and paved with unnamed stones for all Spanish America.
lingered, the tortuous path that opened one […]
uncoiled as your body writhed morning From out of the shadows
the black serpent of suffering. onto the triumphant road of you leap into the ring:
[…] independence. world champion,
118
El Hadji Sy, sketch for Archéologie marine, 2014 [Marine Archaeology]
and strike with each victory You smile, Black Boy the declaration of your rights
the gong that resounds the claims of you sing, shunned
the race. you dance, for more than five centuries,
[…] you rock the cradle of generations in Guinea,
You await the next call, that rise at all hours in Morocco,
the inescapable mobilisation, to join the battlefronts of labour and in Congo,
for your own war has known only suffering everywhere where your black hands
truces, that will storm bastilles tomorrow have left on the walls of Civilisation
for there is no land where your blood onward to the bastions of the future marks of love, grace and light…
has not been shed, in order to write in all languages,
no language in which your colour on the clear pages of every sky, Jean-François Brière
has not been cursed.
119
Anna Boghiguian, Cities by the River, 2014
120
Handira
Handiras are a type of woollen blanket used
by women to protect themselves from the
winter cold, but their patterns and colours also
signal a belonging to a specific group within
an ethnic confederation. The cloth speaks of
the existence of a real, specific person and not
an anonymous, anodyne and interchangeable
being. It does not bear the name of the weaver
or the name of a place yet it stands for a real
living being. The handira also shows that col-
lective art is not a uniform agglomerate or a
gigantic all-doing hand, but instead is made
by unique and singular individuals. In its mod-
Teresa Lanceta, Handira Aït Ouarain, undated
esty, this blanket or cape mirrors the wisdom
contained in the textile abstraction and in the
culture it embodies.
As a commodity it is prone to lop-
sided economic exchange which is hard to
refuse. Commercial transactions are not usu-
ally carried out on a fair exchange basis; what
for some is a benefit they can’t (or won’t) re-
nounce, for others is an imposition they can’t
turn down.
Teresa Lanceta
121
Teresa Lanceta, Handira I, 1997
Teresa Lanceta, Handira III, 1997
122
Nilbar Güreş, Junction, 2010
123
124
Gülsün Karamustafa, Muhacir, 2003 [The Settler]
Muhacir [The Settler] considers the impact of forced displacement upon women’s lives in the context
of the Yugoslavian wars that tore apart the Western Balkans in the 1990s. Dedicated to both of Gülsün
Karamustafa’s grandmothers, the double-screen film is loosely inspired by the ordeal that brought their families
to Istanbul (one from Crimea through Bulgaria, the other from today’s Bosnia and Herzegovina).
125
Romy Pocztaruk, A última aventura, 2011 [The Last Adventure]
126
Lia Perjovschi, Life Coaching, 1999
127
Image p.22
Alessandro Petti, Sandi Hilal and
pp.28-30
ruangrupa
Captions Grupo Contrafilé
Mujawara, 2014. Image: Peetssa
RURU.ZIP, an exhibit of ruangrupa’s
archive, during Decompression
p.16 #10, ruangrupa’s tenth anniversary.
p.23 National Gallery of Indonesia,
Bruno Pacheco
Fernand Deligny Jakarta, 2010.
Meeting Point, 2011. Oil on canvas.
Drawings printed in Les Detours de RURU.NET, an exhibit
220 × 400 cm. Courtesy: Hollybush
l’agir: Ou, Le Moindre Geste, Paris: chronologically showing
Gardens, London and Galeria
Hachette, 1979. ruangrupa’s collaborative
Filomena Soares, Lisbon.
experiences, during
Image: Pedro Tropa.
p.24 Decompression #10, ruangrupa’s
tenth anniversary. National Gallery
p.17 Alessandro Petti and Sandi Hilal of Indonesia, Jakarta, 2010.
Juan Downey Dheisheh Refugee Camp, Toko Keperluan, Aggun
Untitled, 1975. (Series: Maps). Bethlehem, West Bank (1955) and Priambodo’s solo exhibition, during
Colour pencil, pencil and synthetic Doha City (2012). The left side which the artist transformed the
polymer paint on map on board. shows Dheisheh Refugee Camp gallery into a fully-operating store.
86.7 × 51.4 cm. Collection: MoMA, made of tents in 1955, while the RURU Gallery, Jakarta, 2010.
New York. Courtesy: Purchased right side presents Doha City, a
neighbourhood lying outside the RRREC Fest, a festival series
with funds provided by the Latin
camp borders, built by Palestinian where musical concerts, bazaars
American and Caribbean Fund and
refugees. Doha was named in and movie screenings, are held by
Donald B. Marron. Image: 2014
honour of the capital of Qatar, the ruangrupa. Various venues in and
Juan Downey/Artists Rights
country which partially financed around Jakarta, 2010-ongoing.
Society (ARS), New York.
its construction. It is a refugee
city that works virtually as an p.31-33
p.18
independent municipality, yet Mujeres Creando
Marta Neves
remains physically and politically Graffiti. Image: Mujeres Creando.
Não-ideia, 2002. [No-Idea]. linked to the Dheisheh via a bridge
(Series: Não-ideias. 2001-ongoing. and social networks respectively. Útero ilegal, 2014. [Illegal Uterus].
[No-Ideas]). Hand-painted street 1955/2012. Photographs. Image: (Series: 13 horas de rebelión. [13
banner, variable dimensions. BraveNewAlps (Campus in Camps). Hours of Rebellion]). Video (sound,
Image: Marta Neves. colour), 9' 6". Image: Mujeres
p.25 Creando.
p.19 Graffiti. Image: Mujeres Creando.
Grupo Contrafilé
Alessandro Petti and Sandi Hilal
Preparation for baobab planting p.32
A new form of urbanism in ritual, Pajelança Quilombólica
Dheisheh Refugee Camp. After Digital, Baobas’ Route/ Yeguas del Apocalipsis
over 64 years of exile, Palestinian Rede Mocambos, Fazenda Casa particular, 1989. [Private
camps are no longer constituted Roseira, Campinas, 2010. Home]. Production still.
by tents and humanitarian spaces. Event, collaborative action. Image: Yeguas del Apocalipsis.
They represent a completely Image: Peetssa. Courtesy: Pedro Montes.
original urban form born of
the necessity and creativity of pp.26, 27 pp.34-37
the inhabitants, 2008. Digital
Bik Van der Pol Comboio and Movimento Moinho
photograph. Courtesy: Alessandro
[accumulate, collect, show], 2011. Vivo
Petti and Sandi Hilal.
Image: Vincenzo Castella. Installation, variable dimensions. Images and drawings: Comboio
Image: Bik Van der Pol. and Movimento Moinho Vivo.
p.20 School of Missing Studies,
2013-ongoing. Diagram, variable pp.38-41
Erick Beltrán
dimensions. Image: Nikola Agência Popular de Cultura
O que caminha ao lado, 2014.
Knezevic. Solano Trindade
[Double Goer]. Research image.
Image: Erick Beltrán Images of saraus, cultural actions
and groups. Image: Agência
128
Popular de Cultura Solano p.58 pp.72, 73
Trindade. Juan Downey Teatro da Vertigem
p.44 Untitled, 1988. (Series: Continental A última palavra é a penúltima,
Drift). Oil, acrylic and carbon on 2008. [The Last Word Is the
Juan Downey paper, 118 × 112 cm. Image: Estate of Penultimate One]. Theatre play.
Untitled, 1988. (Series: Continental Juan Downey. Image: Edu Marin.
Drift). Oil, acrylic and carbon on
paper, 118 × 112 cm. Image: 2014 pp.59, 60 pp.74, 75
Juan Downey/Artists Rights Popular bus line Mambu-Marsilac, Yuri Firmeza
Society (ARS), New York. 2014. Image: Danilo Ramos. Nada é, 2014. [Nothing Is].
p.45 Video (sound, colour), 32'.
pp.62, 63 Image: Yuri Firmeza.
Comboio Ana Lira
Poster. Image: Comboio Voto!, 2012-ongoing. [Vote!]. Digital pp.76, 77
photographs, variable dimensions. Mark Lewis
pp.46, 47 Image: Ana Lira. Invention, 2014. Installation,
Diagram. Image: Design Bienal. variable dimensions. Exhibition
pp.63-65 design in collaboration with
p.47 Dan Perjovschi Mark Wasiuta and Adam Bandler,
Diagram. Image: Design Bienal. Images of drawings by Dan director of photography Martin
Perjovschi used in demonstrations Testar. Image: Mark Lewis.
p.48 in Bucharest and Copenhagen,
Erick Beltrán 2013-2014. First two images: Vlad p.77
O que caminha ao lado, 2014. Nanca. Others: unknown author. Teatro da Vertigem
[Double Goer]. Diagram. Image: Courtesy: Dan Perjovschi A última palavra é a penúltima,
Erick Beltrán. 2008. [The Last Word Is the
pp.65-67 Penultimate One]. Theatre play.
p.49 Halil Altındere Image: Edu Marin.
Marta Neves Wonderland, 2013. Video (sound,
colour), 8' 25". Courtesy: Halil pp.78, 79
Não-ideia, 2002. [No‑Idea].
(Series: Não-ideias. [No‑Ideas]). Altındere and Pilot Galeri, Istanbul. Yochai Avrahami
Hand-painted street banner, Image: Halil Altındere. Stills from research videos for
variable dimensions. Small World, 2014. Video (sound,
Image: Marta Neves. p.66, 68-70 colour). Image: Yochai Avrahami.
Juan Carlos Romero
p.50 Violencia, 1973-1977. [Violence]. pp.83-89
Qiu Zhijie Printed papers, variable Images from the internet.
The Map of Utopia, 2012. Ink on dimensions. Image: Juan Courtesy: Tony Chakar.
wall, 350 × 900 cm. Image: Qiu Carlos Romero.
Zhijie. p.90
p.70 Prabhakar Pachpute
The Map of the City, 2012. Ink
on wall, 200 × 350 cm. Image: Qiu Éder Oliveira Dust Bowl in Our Hand, 2013.
Zhijie. Sem título, 2013. [Untitled]. Mural/ Charcoal on paper, 152 × 183 cm.
urban intervention. Image: Jessica Image: Prabhakar Pachpute.
p.51 Nascimento.
Halil Altındere Images of production process, p.91
Wonderland, 2013. Video (colour, 2013. Image: Éder Oliveira. Leigh Orpaz

sound), 8' 25". Courtesy: Halil Breakfast, 2014. Video (sound,
Altındere and Pilot Galeri, Istanbul. p.71 black and white), 2' 29".
Image: Halil Altındere. Gabriel Mascaro Image: Leigh Orpaz.
Não é sobre sapatos, 2014.
[It Is Not About Shoes]. Video
(colour, sound). Image: unkown
author.
129
pp.92, 93 p.98 Tayari (Amazon Rain Forest),
Sheela Gowda Gülsün Karamustafa 1977. Colour pencil, and graphite
and ink on paper, 108.5 × 65 cm.
Bow/Arrow – three-directional Resimli Tarih, 1995. [Illustrated Image: Estate of Juan Downey.
tension, 2014. Image: Sheela History]. Textile collage,
Gowda. 350 × 700 cm. Courtesy: Gülsün p.102
Coagulated latex pressed into a Karamustafa and Rampa, Istanbul.
Image: Gülsün Karamustafa. Jo Baer
sheet, 2014. Image: Sheela Gowda.
In the Land of the Giants (Spiral
Acre, 2014. Project. Image: Sheela p.98 and Stars), 2012. (Series: In the
Gowda. Land of the Giants). Oil on canvas,
Hudinilson Jr.
Page from a sketchbook with a 155 × 155 cm. Courtesy: Galerie
drawing by the child of a rubber Gesto IV (3ª versão), 1986. [Gesture Barbara Thumm, Berlin.
tapper from the Amazon, 2014. IV (3rd Version)]. Xerox photocopy, Image: Jo Baer.
Image: Sheela Gowda. 38.5 × 20 cm. Courtesy: Galeria
Jaqueline Martins, São Paulo. p.104
Engravings on a rubber tree, 2014.
Image: Sheela Gowda. p.99 Val del Omar
Rubbersheets hanging / cut Otobong Nkanga Fuego en Castilla, 1958-1960. [Fire
branches in a corner, 2014. in Castile]. 35-mm film (sound,
Image: Sheela Gowda. Sketch for Landversation, 2014. black and white, colour), 17'.
Image: Otobong Nkanga. Courtesy: Museo Nacional Centro
Woodcutting blades, 2014.
Image: Sheela Gowda. de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid.
p.100 Donation by the Archivo María
pp.94, 95 Wilhelm Sasnal José Val del Omar and Gonzalo
Kopernik, 2004. [Copernicus]. Sáenz de Buruaga, 2011.
Danica Dakić
Oil on canvas, 150 × 140 cm.
Céu, 2014. [Heaven]. Video (sound, Courtesy: Wilhelm Sasnal and p.105
colour), 10' 53”. Image: Danica Foksal Gallery Foundation, Thiago Martins de Melo
Dakić. In collaboration with the Warsaw. Image: Marek Gardulski.
children and staff of the Colégio de O suplício do bastardo da
Santa Inês, with the photographer brancura, 2013. [The Hardship
p.101 of the Bastard of Whiteness].
Egbert Trogemann.
Lia Perjovschi Oil on canvas, 390 × 360 cm.
p.95 Art Education, 1999. (Series: Image: Mendes Wood DM.
Asger Jorn Mind Maps). Diagram, variable

dimensions. Image: Lia Perjovschi. pp.106, 107
Page from The Situationist Times, Romy Pocztaruk
number 5, December 1964. Edited pp.102, 103
by: Jacqueline de Jong. A última aventura, 2011.
Juan Downey [The Last Adventure]. Digital
p.96 Inca II, 1973. (Series: Video Trans photograph, variable dimensions.
Americas). Video (sound, black and Image: Romy Pocztaruk.
Bruno Pacheco
white), 27' 32". Image: Estate of [The Last Adventure]. Facsimile.
Meeting Point, 2012. Oil on canvas, Juan Downey.
215 × 375 cm. Courtesy: Hollybush p.106
Gardens, London and Galeria Guatemala, 1973. (Series: Video
Filomena Soares, Lisbon. Trans Americas). Video (sound, Kasper Akhøj and
Image: Pedro Tropa. black and white), 27' 32". Tamar Guimarães
Image: Estate of Juan Downey. A família do Capitão Gervásio,
p.97 New York/Texas II, 1973. 2013. [Captain Gervásio’s Family].
Nilbar Güreş (Series: Video Trans Americas). 16 mm film loop (sound, black
Video (sound, black and white), and white), 14', and concrete
Open Phone Booth, 2011. 3-channel 27' 32". Image: Estate of Juan structures. Courtesy: Kasper
video, HD, 16:9 format (sound, Downey. Akhøj, Tamar Guimarães, Galeria
colour), 33' 46". Courtesy: Nilbar Fortes Vilaça, São Paulo and Ellen
Güreş, Rampa, Istanbul and New York/Texas II, 1973.
(Series: Video Trans Americas). De Bruijne Projects, Amsterdam.
Galerie Martin Janda, Vienna. Image: Kasper Akhøj and Tamar
Image: Nilbar Güreş. Video (sound, black and white),
27' 32". Image: Estate of Juan Guimarães.
Downey.
130
pp.108, 109 Tree – Fire Devouring Pigs]. p.123
Armando Queiroz with Almires Oil on canvas, 390 × 360 cm. Nilbar Güreş
Martins and Marcelo Rodrigues Image: Mendes Wood DM,
São Paulo. Junction, 2010. (Series:
Ymá Nhandehetama, 2009. TrabZONE). C-print photograph,
[In the Past We Were Many]. pp.116, 117 100 × 150 cm. Courtesy: Nilbar
Video (sound, colour), 8' 20”. Güreş, Rampa, Istanbul and
Image: Armando Queiroz. Anna Boghiguian Galerie Martin Janda, Vienna.
Cotton White-Gold, 2010. Mixed Image: Nilbar Güreş.
pp.110, 111 media on paper, 29.5 × 42 cm.
MapAzônia, part of ‘Dossiê: Image: Anna Boghiguian. pp.124, 125
por uma cartografia crítica da Cotton Plantation During Gülsün Karamustafa
Amazônia’ [Dossier: For a Critical Mohammed Ali, 2010. Mixed media Muhacir, 2003. [The Settler].
Cartography of the Amazon]. on paper, 29.5 × 42 cm. Image: Anna 2-channel video (sound,
Image: LabCart (Hugo Nascimento, Boghiguian. colour), 5' 18". Courtesy: Gülsün
Luah Sampaio and Yuri Barros), The Building of the Suez Canal Karamustafa and Rampa, Istanbul.
qUALQUER qUOLETIVO (Lucas and and the Auctioning of the Image: Gülsün Karamustafa.
Romário) and Giseli Vasconcelos. Canal, 2014. Mixed media on
paper, 29.5 × 42 cm. Image: Anna p.126
pp.112, 113 Boghiguian. Romy Pocztaruk
Vivian Suter
pp.117-119 A última aventura, 2011.
Views of the artist’s house/studio, [The Last Adventure]. Digital
2014. Courtesy: Vivian Suter El Hadji Sy photograph, variable dimensions.
and Gaga Arte Contemporáneo, Archéologie marine, 2014. [Marine Image: Romy Pocztaruk.
Mexico City. Image: Vivian Suter. Archaeology]. Fishing net, Brazilian
coffee bags, sisal, canvas, strings, p.127
p.113 paint and glue (in production), Lia Perjovschi
Kasper Akhøj and 1600 × 500 cm. Image: Pedro Ivo
Tamar Guimarães Trasferetti/Fundação Bienal de Life Coaching, 1999. (Series: Mind
São Paulo. Maps). Diagram, variable
A família do Capitão Gervásio, dimensions. Image: Lia Perjovschi.
2013. [Captain Gervásio’s Family]. Archéologie marine, 2014. [Marine
16-mm film loop (sound, black Archaeology]. Pencil and string on p.166
and white), 14', and concrete paper, 60 × 42 cm. Image: Pedro Ivo
structures. Courtesy: Kasper Trasferetti/Fundação Bienal de São Yonamine
Akhøj, Tamar Guimarães, Galeria Paulo. neoblanc, 2013. Serigraph,
Fortes Vilaça, São Paulo and Ellen 30 × 21 cm. Image: Yonamine.
De Bruijne Projects, Amsterdam. p.120
Image: Kasper Akhøj and Anna Boghiguian p. 167
Tamar Guimarães. Qiu Zhijie
Cities by the River, 2014. Mixed
p.114 media on paper, 31 × 21.5 cm The Map of the Park, 2012.
and 33 × 41 cm respectively. Ink on wall, 300 × 400 cm.
Wilhelm Sasnal Image: Anna Boghiguian. Image: Qiu Zhijie.
Untitled, 2010. Oil on canvas,
222.5 × 182.5 cm. Courtesy: Foksal pp.121, 122 pp.168, 169
Gallery Foundation, Warsaw. Teresa Lanceta Tony Chakar
Image: Marek Gardulski.
Handira Aït Ouarain, undated. Of Other Worlds That Are in This
Untitled (Mine), 2009. Oil Wool and cotton fabric. 168 × 97 cm. One, 2014. Mobile telephone
on canvas, 220 × 200 cm. Collection: Teresa Lanceta. images. Image: Tony Chakar.
Courtesy: Foksal Gallery Image: Original Marrocan handira.
Foundation, Warsaw. p.170
Image: Marek Gardulski. Handira III, 1997. Wool and
cotton fabric, 168 × 97 cm. Yael Bartana
p.115 Image: Teresa Lanceta. Inferno, 2013. [Hell]. Video (sound,
Thiago Martins de Melo Handira I, 1997. Wool and colour), 18' 7". Courtesy: Petzel
cotton fabric, 168 × 97 cm. Gallery, New York, Annet Gelink
Árvore de sangue – Fogo que Image: Teresa Lanceta. Gallery, Amsterdam and Sommer
consome porcos, 2013. [Blood
131
Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv. p.181 storage boxes, speakers, 2 record
Image: Yael Bartana. Voluspa Jarpa players, vinyls, sound of vinyl
crackle, desktop computer with
p.171 Minimal Secret, 2011. Laser‑cut 35' 51” video, looped. Chapter 2: 6'
cardboard, 80 × 40 cm. single-channel video and 2-channel
Mapa Teatro - Laboratorio Image: Voluspa Jarpa.
de artistas sound and subwoofer, variable
dimensions. Courtesy: Basel
Los incontados: un tríptico, 2014. p.182 Abbas, Ruanne Abou-Rahme
[The Uncounted: A Triptych]. Lázaro Saavedra and Carrol/Fletcher Gallery,
Installation, variable dimensions. London. Image: Servet Dilber/13th
Image: Mapa Teatro. Karl Marx, 1992. Collage, variable
dimensions. Image: Lázaro Istanbul Biennial.
pp.172-174 Saavedra.
p.191
Chto Delat pp.183, 184 Halil Altındere
The Excluded. In a moment of Johanna Calle Wonderland, 2013. Video (sound,
danger, 2014. Research images for colour), 8' 25". Courtesy: Halil
video, 25'. Image: Chto Delat. Nogal, 2012. [Walnut].
(Series: Perímetros. [Perimeters]). Altındere and Pilot Galeri, Istanbul.
Typewritten text on notarial Image: Halil Altındere.
p.175
records, 320 × 412 cm.
León Ferrari Collection: Marilia Razuk. pp.191, 192
Palabras Ajenas, 1967. [Words Courtesy: Johanna Calle and Del Tercer Mundo [From the Third
of Others]. Book cover. Razuk Gallery, São Paulo. World] exhibition, zone 2, 1968.
Image: Fundación Augusto y Image: Johanna Calle. Black-and-white photograph.
León Ferrari, Buenos Aires. Image of process for Image: Archivo Fotográfico
Perímetros, 2012. [Perimeters]. (CREART), Ministerio de Cultura,
p.175 Courtesy: Johanna Calle and La Habana, Cuba.
Sergio Zevallos Razuk Gallery, São Paulo.
Image: Johanna Calle. p.193
Andróginos, 1998-2000
[Androgynous]. Tempera, pastel, Contables, 2009. (Series: Yonamine
graphite and collage on paper, Imponderables). Wire mesh and neoblanc, 2014. Serigraph,
160 × 115 cm. Collection: Museo copper on cardboard, diverse 21 × 30 cm. Image: Yonamine
de Arte de Lima. Image: Sergio dimensions. Image: Johanna Calle.
Zevallos. p.194
pp.184, 185 Archive document of the Congreso
pp.176-178 Clara Ianni and Cultural de La Habana. Digital
Etcétera... Débora Maria da Silva photograph. Image: Jakob
Infierno financiero. 2014. [Financial Apelo, 2014. [Plea]. Production Jakobsen and María Berríos.
Hell]. Collages for participatory stills for video, variable dimensions.
installation Errar de Dios, 2014 Image: Clara Ianni and Débora p.212
[Erring from God], variable Maria da Silva. Ramp at the Ciccillo Matarazzo
dimensions. Courtesy: Etcétera.... Pavilion. Image: Andrés Otero/
pp.186, 187 Fundação Bienal de São Paulo,
p.180 Agnieszka Piksa 2011.
Walid Raad Justice for Aliens, 2012. p.213
Untitled III, Unitled XV, Untitled Digital collages, 37 × 52.5 cm.
XIV, Untitled XIII, Untitled I and Image: Agnieszka Piksa. Poster for the 31st Bienal.
Untitled II, 2014. (Series: Scratching Drawing: Prabhakar Pachpute.
on Things That I Could Disavow). pp.188-190 Design: Fundação Bienal de São
Wood, drywall, paint, variable Paulo.
Basel Abbas and
dimensions. Collection: Private Ruanne Abou-Rahme
collection, Baghdad. p.214
Courtesy: Paula Cooper Gallery, The Incidental Insurgents: The Conceptual sketch for the
New York. Image: Walid Raad. Part about the Bandits, 2012. architectural project for the
Chapter 1: Installation: documents, 31st Bienal, by Oren Sagiv.
images, personal items, desks, Image: Studio Oren Sagiv.
chairs, table, stools, office cabinet,
132
pp.216-225 p.239 p.244
Architectural studies and plans. Juan Downey Mujeres Creando
Image: Studio Oren Sagiv. Untitled (Viaje a Perú-Bolivia), Sketch for Espacio para
1976. [Untitled (Peru-Bolivia abortar, 2014. [Space to Abort].
p.226 Journey)]. Oil on wood, 91.4 × 71 cm. Image: Mujeres Creando.
Val del Omar Image: Estate of Juan Downey /
Fuego en Castilla, 1958-1960. Artists Rights Society (ARS), New p.244
[Fire in Castile]. 35-mm film York. Nahum Zenil
(sound, black and white), 17'. Evangelista, 1989. [Evangelist].
Image: Museo Nacional Centro de pp.240, 241
Mixed media, 42.5 × 35 cm.
Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid. Donation Nilbar Güreş Image: Manuel Zavala Alonso.
by the Archivo María José Val Overhead, 2010.
del Omar and Gonzalo Sáenz de Gracias Virgencita de Guadalupe,
(Series: TrabZONE). C-print 1984. [Thanks to the Little Virgin
Buruaga, 2011. photograph, 150 × 100 cm. of Guadalupe]. Mixed media,
Courtesy: Nilbar Güreş, Rampa, 46 × 31 cm. Image: Manuel Zavala
pp.226, 227 Istanbul and Galerie Martin Janda, Alonso.
Imogen Stidworthy Vienna. Image: Nilbar Güreş.
Production stills and sketch for The Grapes, 2010. p.245
Balayer - A Map of Sweeping, 2014. (Series: TrabZONE). C-print Ocaña
HD Video projected on 2 floor- photograph, 150 × 100 cm.
based wooden screens; 6-channel Courtesy: Nilbar Güreş, Rampa, Inmaculada de las pollas,
Ambisonic sound on Genelec Istanbul and Galerie Martin Janda, 1976. [Immaculate of the
loudspeakers; 1 Panphonics Vienna. Image: Nilbar Güreş. Cocks]. Drawing, 60 × 50 cm.
focusing audio element; textile; Collection: Nazario, Barcelona.
5 stools, 15'. Courtesy: SD video p.241
footage courtesy of Jacques pp.246, 247
Masked figure of the Kawmot,
Lin, filmed at La Magnanerie, South Coast of New Britain. Nurit Sharett
Graniers, Monoblet (France) Research image for Kasper Counting the Stars, 2014. 3-screen
between 2000 and 2008. Akhøj and Tamar Guimarães. HD video (sound, colour), 60'.
Image: Imogen Stidworthy. Image: Wellcome Library, London. Image: Nurit Sharett.
p.230-233 p.242 pp.248, 249
Giuseppe Campuzano Sergio Zevallos Virginia de Medeiros
Carnet, 2011. ID photograph, Martirios, 1983. [Martyrdom]. Sergio e Simone, 2014. [Sergio
variable dimensions. (Series: Suburbios [Suburbs]). Silver and Simone]. Analogue and digital
Image: Giuseppe Campuzano. photograph on fiber-based paper, video (sound, colour). Image:
DNI (De Natura Incertus), 2009. 60 × 38.5 cm. Courtesy: Galería Virginia de Medeiros.
Image: Carlos Pereyra. 80 m2 Livia Benavides, Lima. Sergio e Simone, 2007. [Sergio
Letanía, 2009-2013. [Litany]. Image: Sergio Zevallos. and Simone]. Analogue and digital
Lenticular print, 110 × 144 cm. Ambulantes, 1983. [Strolling]. video, 10'. Collection: Centro
Image: Giuseppe Campuzano. (Series: Suburbios. [Suburbs]). Dragão do Mar de Arte e Cultura,
Línea de Vida / Museo Travesti Silver photograph on fiber-based Fortaleza. Image: Virginia de
del Perú, 2009-2013. [Life’s paper, 14 × 9 cm. Courtesy: Museo Medeiros.
Timeline / Transvestite Museum de Arte de Lima. Image: Sergio
of Peru]. Collection: Luis Eduardo Zevallos. p.249
Wuffarden. Image: Courret Arthur Scovino
Hermanos. p.243
Caboclo Borboleta (O Caboclo dos
Yeguas del Apocalipsis Aflitos), 2013. [Butterfly Caboclo
pp.234-238 Las dos Fridas, 1989/2014. (The Caboclo of the Aflitos)].
Ines Doujak and John Barker [The Two Fridas]. Digital photograph, variable
Loomshuttles, Warpaths / Photograph, 120 × 135 cm. dimensions. Image: Arthur Scovino.
Eccentric Archive, 2009-ongoing. Image: Pedro Marinello.
Image: Ines Doujak and San Camilo – Leonora, 1989/2014.
John Barker. Image: Pedro Marinello
133
p.255 installation Nosso Lar, Brasília, Jaqueline Martins, São Paulo.
Fernand Deligny variable dimensions. Image: Studio Image: Filipe Berndt.
Jonas Staal.
Drawings printed in Les Detours de pp.280-281
l’agir: Ou, Le Moindre Geste, Paris: pp.270, 271
Hachette, 1979. Arthur Scovino
Jo Baer Sketch for Casa de caboclo, 2014.
p.261 Royal Families (Curves, Points [House of Caboclo]. Image: Arthur
Edward Krasiński and Little Ones), 2013. (Series: In Scovino.
the Land of Giants). Oil on canvas, Recanto dos Aflitos (O Caboclo
Spear, 1963-1964. 12 wooden 155 × 155 cm. Courtesy: Galerie
pieces painted black and red, metal dos Aflitos), 2014 [Recanto of
Barbara Thumm, Berlin. the Aflitos (The Caboclo of the
wires, 320 cm. Collection: Paulina Image: Jo Baer.
Krasińska, Zalesie. Aflitos)]. Photograph, dimensions
Courtesy: Paulina Krasińska Heraldry (Posts and Spreads), variable. Image: Arthur Scovino
and Foksal Gallery Foundation, 2013. (Series: In the Land of Caboclo Borboleta (O Caboclo
Warsaw. Image: Eustachy Giants). Oil on canvas, 155 × 155 cm. dos Aflitos), 2012-2014. [Butterfly
Kossakowski and Hanna Courtesy: Galerie Barbara Thumm, Caboclo (The Caboclo from
Ptaskowska / Archive of Museum Berlin. Image: Jo Baer. Aflitos)]. Photograph, dimensions
of Modern Art Warsaw. variable. Image: Arthur Scovino.
p.272
Caboclo Samambaia, 2013.
p.266 Teatro da Vertigem [Bracken Caboclo]. Drawing,
Arthur Scovino A última palavra é a penúltima, inkjet print, monotype and
Instagram Caboquismo 2008. [The Last Word Is the typewritten text, 30 × 21 cm.
(O Caboclo dos Aflitos), 2014. Penultimate One]. Theatre play. Image: Arthur Scovino.
[Caboclo-ism on Instagram Image: Edu Marin.
(The Caboclo of the Aflitos)]. p.281
Photograph, variable dimensions. pp.272-275 Vivian Suter
Image: Arthur Scovino. Val del Omar View of the artist’s house/studio,
Aguaespejo granadino, 1953-1955. 2014. Courtesy: Vivian Suter
pp.266, 267 [Water-Mirror of Granada]. 35‑mm and Gaga Arte Contemporáneo,
Edward Krasiński film (sound, black and white and Mexico City. Image: Vivian Suter.
Avant-garde Institute, 2003. color), 23'. Image: Museo Nacional
Installation at Edward Krasiński’s Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, pp.282-285
studio, variable dimensions. Madrid. Donation by the Archivo Juan Pérez Agirregoikoa
Collection: Paulina Krasińska, María José Val del Omar and
Gonzalo Sáenz de Buruaga, 2011. Letra morta, 2014. [Dead Letter].
Zalesie. Courtesy: Paulina HD video (sound, black and white),
Krasińska and Foksal Gallery Fuego en Castilla, 1958-1960. 27'. Director of photography: José
Foundation, Warsaw. Image: Aneta [Fire in Castile]. 35-mm film Mari Zabala. Image: Juan Pérez
Grzeszykowska and Jan Smaga. (black and white and colour ), 17'. Agirregoikoa.
Image: Museo Nacional Centro de
pp.268, 269 Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid. Donation p.286
Asier Mendizabal by the Archivo María José Val
del Omar and Gonzalo Sáenz de Danica Dakić
Agoramaquia (el caso exacto de Buruaga, 2011. Vila Maria, 2014. Video (sound,
la estatua). 2014. [Agoramaquia colour), 6' 56”. In collaboration with
(The Exact Case of the Statue)]. p.276-279 Roger Avanzi, the performers of
Reseach photograph and the Unidos de Vila Maria Samba
modified photograph, variable Hudinilson Jr.
School and the photographer
dimensions. Original photograph Reference notebook, undated. Egbert Trogemann. Image: Danica
(right) by Tatiana Guerrero. Collage on paper made of Dakić.
Image: Asier Mendizabal. cutouts from various sources.
Courtesy: Galeria Jaqueline pp.287, 288
p.270 Martins, São Paulo.
Kasper Akhøj and
Jonas Staal Sem título, 1980. [Untilted]. Tamar Guimarães
Nosso Lar, Brasília (Plans for the Photocopy, variable
dimensions. Courtesy: Galeria A familia do Capitão Gervásio,
Cities of Nosso Lar and Brasília, 2013. [Captain Gervásio’s Family].
overlaid), 2014. Print, part of 16-mm film in loop (sound,
134
black and white), 14', concrete Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv. p.315
structures. Courtesy: Kasper Image: Yael Bartana. Del Tercer Mundo [From the Third
Akhøj, Tamar Guimarães, Galeria World] exhibition, zone 2, 1968.
Fortes Vilaça, São Paulo and Ellen pp.301-303 Black-and-white photograph.
De Bruijne Projects, Amsterdam. Wilhelm Sasnal Image: Archivo Fotográfico
Image: Kasper Akhøj and (CREART), Ministerio de Cultura,
Tamar Guimarães. Capitol, 2009. Oil on canvas,
160 × 200 cm. Courtesy: Foksal La Habana, Cuba.
p.288 Gallery Foundation, Warsaw.
Image: Marek Gardulski.
Yuri Firmeza
Columbus, 2014. Oil on canvas,
Nada é, 2014. [Nothing Is]. Video 180 × 220 cm. Courtesy: Foksal
(sound, colour), 32'. Image: Yuri Gallery Foundation, Warsaw.
Firmeza. Image: Marek Gardulski.
p.291 Untitled, 2013. Oil on canvas,

16 × 120 cm. Courtesy: Foksal
Michael Kessus Gedalyovich Gallery Foundation, Warsaw.
The Placebo Scroll, 2014. Image: Paul McAree.
Installation, variable dimensions.
Image: Michael Kessus pp.304-309
Gedalyovich. Pages from The Situationist Times,
number 5, December 1964. Edited
pp.293-295 by: Jacqueline de Jong.
Jonas Staal
Maps and studies for Nosso Lar, p.310
Brasília, 2014. Installation, variable Gülsün Karamustafa
dimensions. Courtesy: Studio Jonas Resimli Tarih, 1995. [Illustrated
Staal. Image: Jonas Staal. History]. Textile collage,
350×700 cm. Courtesy: Gülsün
p.294 Karamustafa and Rampa, Istanbul.
Yael Bartana Image: Gülsün Karamustafa.
Inferno, 2013. [Hell]. Video (sound,
colour), 18' 7". Courtesy: Petzel pp.310, 311
Gallery, New York, Annet Gelink Yonamine
Gallery, Amsterdam and Sommer neoblanc, 2014. Serigraphs,
Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv. 21 × 30 cm. Images: Yonamine
Image: Yael Bartana.
p.312
p.296
Lia Perjovschi
Val del Omar
Knowledge, 1999. (Series: Mind
Fuego en Castilla, 1958-1960. Maps). Diagram, variable
[Fire in Castile]. 35-mm film (sound, dimensions. Image: Lia Perjovschi.
black and white and colour), 17'.
Image: Museo Nacional Centro de p.313
Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid. Donation
by the Archivo María José Val Otobong Nkanga
del Omar and Gonzalo Sáenz de Sketch for Landversation, 2014.
Buruaga, 2011. Image: Otobong Nkanga.
pp.298-301 p.314
Yael Bartana Prabhakar Pachpute
Inferno, 2013. [Hell]. Video (sound, Back to the Farm II, 2013. Charcoal
colour), 18' 7". Courtesy: Petzel on paper. Image: Prabhakar
Gallery, New York, Annet Gelink Pachpute.
Gallery, Amsterdam and Sommer
135
Projects’ Sofia Sefraoui, Maude Sobeyrand,
Justine Tirroloni). Shot in 16-mm
Etcétera...
Infierno financiero. 2014. [Financial
Credits with a Bolex mechanical camera
and a Blackmagic pocket Super 16
Hell].
A project by Etcétera... Texts:
digital camera.
Franco Berardi ‘Bifo’, Loreto Garín
Alejandra Riera with UEINZZ Guzmán and Federico Zukerfeld.
Asger Jorn Architecture: Antoine Silvestre.
“... - OHPERA – MUET -...” [“...
Technological development: in
- MUTE – OHPERA -...”] on the 10.000 års nordisk folkekunst, collaboration with the Muntref Arts
date of 3 September 2014. Partial 1961-1965. [10,000 Years of Nordic and Science by the Universidad
views (image-text) and fragments Folk Art] Nacional Tres de Febrero, Nahuel
of an unfinished film shot mainly
Photographs by Gérard Franceschi. Sauza, Facundo Suasnabar,
in Buenos Aires from December
Fernando Nicolosi (UNTREF).
2013 to April 2014. Sound and
Graphic design: Hernán Cardinale.
image material made possible
Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou- Special thanks: Fundación Augusto
with the help of various people
Rahme y León Ferrari.
including: Anaomar Iris Santana,
Mario Leoncio Barrios and Enrique The Incidental Insurgents,
Mamani (ORCOPO, Organización 2012-ongoing.
Imogen Stidworthy
de Comunidades de Pueblos Part 1: The Incidental Insurgents:
Originarios), Sergina Morte et The Part about the Bandits Balayer – A Map of Sweeping,
Javier Ortuño (African-descendant 2014.
Co-produced by Young Arab
activists in Buenos Aires), Domingo Imogen Stidworthy in collaboration
Theatre Fund and Al-Ma’mal
Tellechea (sculptor, restorer). Film with Gisèle Durand-Ruiz and
Foundation for Contemporary Art
crew in Buenos Aires: Bohmcine Jacques Lin and with the
Jerusalem. Courtesy of the artists
(Laura Arensburg, Federico participation of Christoph
and Carroll/Fletcher.
Bracken, Facundo Gomez, Alejo Berton, Gilou Toche and Malika
Frias, Violetta Kovensky), Marcelo Part 2: The Incidental Insurgents: Boulainseur. With the voices of
Moreno. Thanks: Daniel Bohm, Unforgiving Years Dominique Hurth, Jacques Lin and
Alejandro Zanelli, Paulo Vanucchi, Co-produced by Akademie der Suely Roelnik. Audio mixing: Stefan
Rafael Folonier, Dario Guerzoni, Künste der Welt in Cologne. Kazassoglou. Video postproduction:
Eduardo Narvaez, Dean Inkster. Courtesy of the artists and Carroll/ Martin Wallace. Special thanks:
Editing in progress: Alejandra Riera Fletcher, London. Sandra Álvarez de Toledo for
with Marine Bouley. Transcriptions: generously sharing her thoughts
Erika Alvarez Inforsato, Salvador and her knowledge, and for her
Schavelzon, Soledad Torres Chto Delat extensive support.
Agüero. UEINZZ: Adélia Faustino,
The Excluded. In a moment of
Aílton Carvalho, Alexandre
danger, 2014.
Bernardes, Amélia Monteiro de Ines Doujak and John Barker
Melo, Ana Goldenstein Carvalhaes, Co-produced with Secession,
Vienna. Loomshuttles, Warpaths,
Ana Carmen del Collado, Arthur
2009-ongoing.
Amador, Eduardo Lettiere, Erika
Alvarez Inforsato, Fabrício Lima Support: Project supported by
Pedroni, Jaime Menezes, José Danica Dakić the FWF Austrian Science Fund
Petrônio Fantasia, Leonardo Céu, 2014. [Heaven]. (AR19-G21) and bmukk.
Lui Cavalcanti, Luis Guilherme
In collaboration with the children
Ribeiro Cunha, Luiz Augusto
and staff of the Colégio de Santa Jakob Jakobsen and María
Collazzi Loureiro, Maria Yoshiko
Inês, with the photographer Egbert Berríos
Nagahashi, Onés Antonio Cervelin,
Trogemann. Filmed at the Colégio
Paula Patricia Francisquetti, The Revolution Must Be a School
de Santa Inês, São Paulo.
Pedro França, Peter Pál Pelbart, of Unfettered Thought, 2014.
Rogéria Neubauer, Simone Mina, Vila Maria, 2014.
Support: Danish Arts Foundation.
Valéria Felippe Manzalli. The small In collaboration with Roger Avanzi,
open-air cinema was conceived the performers of the samba school
in collaboration with Andreas Unidos de Vila Maria and the Juan Pérez Agirregoikoa
Maria Fohr (artist and filmmaker) photographer Egbert Trogemann.
and will be set up with the help of Filmed at the samba school Unidos Letra morta, 2014. [Dead Letter].
students from the École supérieure de Vila Maria and the Circus Director of Photography: José Mari
d’art de Bourges (Thomas Guillot, Museum, São Paulo. Zabala.
136
Hudinilson Jr. Cinecidade Locações, Top 35 Yuri Firmeza
Zona de tensão and other works, Locação De Equipamentos Nada é, 2014. [Nothing Is].
1980s. [Tension Zone]. Organised Cinematográficos, SuperLimão
Studio, Arte Tubos, Terra de Santa Director: Yuri Firmeza. Assistant
by Marcio Harum director: Giancarlo Maia. Research
Cruz, Condomínio Copan, Edifício
Special thanks: Maria Adelaide Martinelli, SP Urbanismo, Clube and project: Yuri Firmeza. Executive
Pontes and Mario Ramiro for the de Mães, Galeria do Rock, MASP, producer: Camila Battistetti.
first general survey of Hudinilson Via Quatro, Playarte Pictures, Producer: Lohayne Lima. Director
Jr.’s work. Jaqueline Martins, Cine Marabá, Prefeitura de São of photography: Victor de Melo.
Afonso Luz, Douglas de Freitas. Paulo, Subprefeitura da Sé, Pará Live sound: Danilo Carvalho. Editor:
Hudnilson and Maria Aparecida Movimento. Frederico Benevides. Assistant
Urbano. editor: Aline Portugal. Mixing: Érico
Sapão. Support: Centro Cultural
Nilbar Güreş Banco do Nordeste do Brasil.
Kasper Akhøj and
Tamar Guimarães Open Phone Booth, 2011.
A família do Capitão Gervásio, TrabZONE, 2010.
2013. [Captain Gervásio’s Family]. Black Series, 2011.
Thanks: The Spirit Centre Luz da Support: Ministry for Arts,
Verdade, its mediums and patients Education and Culture, Austria,
and medium Vânia Arantes Damo; SAHA and Cultural Center
and support from the Danish Arts Brasil‑Turquia
Foundation.
Nurit Sharett
Mark Lewis Counting the Stars, 2014.
Invention, 2014. This work is part of the Nova
Exhibition design in collaboration Jerusalém [New Jerusalem]
with Mark Wasiuta and Adam research project, focussed on
Bandler. Financial support: the analysis of new religious
Canada Council for the Arts. Glass movements, curated by Benjamin
sponsorship: Guardian Brasil Vidros Seroussi and Eyal Danon.
Planos Ltda. São Paulo Architects: Support: Rabinovich Foundation
SuperLimão Studio. Films: A and Mifal Hapais.
Mark Lewis Studio production,
in association with Soda Film +
Art and in co-production with the Sheela Gowda
National Film Board of Canada Those of Whom, 2014.
and RT Features. Writer and
director: Mark Lewis. Director Special thanks: Sébastien Kopp,
of photography: Martin Testar. Bia Saldanha, François-Ghislain
Producer: Eve Gabereau. Co- Morillion, Veja/Vert Shoes.
producers: Emily Morgan, Gerry
Flahive for NFB, Anita Lee for NFB.
Executive producers: Lourenço Yael Bartana
Sant’Ana for RT Features, Michelle Inferno, 2013 [Hell].
Van Beusekom for NFB. Special This work is part of the Nova
thanks: Barcelona Filmes. Thanks: Jerusalém [New Jerusalem]
Daniel Faria Gallery, Toronto, research project, focussed on
The Power Plant Contemporary the analysis of new religious
Art Gallery, Toronto, Justina M. movements, curated by Benjamin
Barnicke Gallery, Toronto, National Seroussi and Eyal Danon.
Film Board of Canada, Canada
Council for the Arts, Guardian
Vidros do Brasil, Central Saint
Martins, Afterall, Soda Film +
Art, Quiddity Films, RT Features,
Tropical Filmes, Barcelona Filmes,
137
Biographies constitutes a part of the driving
force of our history. Her work
the hosted by the Phoenix Center
in Dheisheh Refugee Camp in
has been the object of numerous Bethlehem, Palestine. Their latest
Agnieszka Piksa presentations, both inside and
outside spaces committed to
book, co-authored with Eyal
Weizman, is entitled Architecture
1984, Warsaw, Poland. Lives and promoting artistic production. After Revolution (2013).
works in Kraków, Poland. Since 2010 she has been professor
of cinema and documentary
Agnieszka Piksa graduated from
the Academy of Fine Arts of
practices at the École Nationale Almires Martins
Supérieure d’art de Bourges;
Kraków, and she works with illus- 1967, Dourado, Brazil. Lives and
she also runs an ‘atelier Lucioles’
tration, comic books, drawing and Works in Belém, Brazil.
[Firefly workshop] at La Borde
design. Her work analyses visual
clinic, in Cour‑Cherverny, France. Almires Martins is Guarani. He has
languages in order to expose the
Poétique(s) de l’inachèvement been itinerant farm labourer and
stereotypes of communication. She
[Poetic(s) of incompleteness] is her sugar cane harvester in alcohol
has participated in the following
last ‘attempt’, a fragment of which and sugar factories, and worked
exhibitions recently: Only to Melt,
was presented in the cellars of the at the Curro Velho Foundation and
Trustingly, without Reproach (2013)
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte the Secretaria de Meio Ambiente
at the Gallery Škuc in Ljubljana,
Reina Sofía in Madrid in September (SEMA), in Belém. There he met
Slovenia; Sen jest drugim życiem
2014. Armando Queiroz, when Queiroz
(2012) at the Miejska BWA Gallery
was researching the historical
in Tarnów, Poland; Urban Myths
traumas of the Amazon. From
(2012) at Mocak in Kraków, Poland;
and Eyes Looking for a Head to
Alessandro Petti this meeting, the video Ymá
Inhabit (2011) at the Muzeum Sztuki and Sandi Hilal Nhandehetama [In the Past We
Were Many] was born. The making
in Łódź, Poland
1973, Beit Sahour, Palestine. Lives of the video also involved the
and works in Beit Sahour. participation of Marcelo Rodrigues
Alejandra Riera 1973, Pescara, Italy. Lives and
as director of photography.
works in Beit Sahour.
1965, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Lives and works in Paris, France. Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti Ana Lira
are architects and researchers
Alejandra Riera defines what 1977, Caruaru, Brazil. Lives and
in urbanism based in Palestine.
she does as a series of ‘attempts’ works in Recife, Brazil.
They are founding members of
to examine the relationship of
DAAR – Decolonizing Architecture Ana Lira is an independent
photography and cinema to
Art Residency, an architectural photographer and researcher.
writing and history. In 1995 she
collective and an artistic resi- For four years now, she has been
established a space of writing in
dency programme that combines developing and participating in
which multiple voices converge:
conceptual speculations and projects in education, curatorship
‘les maquettes‑sans‑qualité’
architectural interventions. DAAR and the editing of visual narra-
[models‑without‑qualities], an
projects have been exhibited tives. She is a specialist in cultural
original form of discontinuous
at the 14th Venice Architecture critical theory and a member of
photographs, captions, texts, film-
Biennale (2014) in Italy; Meeting the group Direitos Urbanos. Lira
documents and narrative accounts
Points 7 (2013) in Antwerp, has participated in the collec-
of praxis. She has also initiated
Belgium/Beirut, Lebanon/Vienna, tives 7Fotografia, Trotamundos,
various research groups, one
Austria; James Gallery (2012) in Boivoador, Paspatu and Vacatussa.
involving the inhabitants of a neigh-
New York, US; and at Nottingham For five years, she edited the
bourhood in the periphery in the
Contemporary (2012) in the UK. magazine Rabisco. She has also
south of France, and another with
DAAR was awarded the Prince taken part in several festivals and
people psychological distress, with
Claus Award for Architecture, independent projects, both in print
the aim of establishing an Enquête
the Foundation for Arts Initiative and online, throughout Brazil.
sur le/notre dehors [Enquiry on
Grant, and was shortlisted for the
the/our outside]: an inquiry on the
Iakov Chernikhov Prize. Alongside
meaning, not of ‘information’, but
research and practice, Hilal
of ‘history’ and ‘micro-history’, and
and Petti are engaged in critical
‘outside’ in the sense of a care for
pedagogy: they are founding
and attention to all that, residing
members of Campus in Camps,
on our periphery, is transitory,
an experimental educational
and which, at the same time,
programme by Al Quds University
138
Anna Boghiguian Pará, Brazil. He is currently director
of the Casa das Onze Janelas in
Asier Mendizabal
1946, Cairo, Egypt. Lives and works Belém, Brazil. 1973, Ordizia, Spain. Lives and
in Cairo, Egypt, and other cities. works in Bilbao, Spain.
Anna Boghiguian lives a nomadic
existence between Egypt, India
Arthur Scovino In his work, Asier Mendizabal
explores the contradiction
and Europe. She studied art and 1980, São Gonçalo, Brazil. Lives between, on the one hand, formal
music at Concordia University in and works in Salvador, Brazil. language and abstraction, with
Montreal, Canada and political their implications of transcen-
Arthur Scovino's work addresses
science and economics at the dence, and, on the other, the
the environment, culture and
American University in Cairo. pretensions of attributing concrete
personal and social relations
During her travels, she has devel- meaning to this language, by
in Bahia – mainly in Salvador,
oped a diverse series of drawings positioning it in relation to specific
where he has lived since 2009.
and collages, often mixed with text, historical situations. He has had
He currently studies symbols of
constituting a sort of diary. Her solo shows at the Hordaland
religious imagery and miscegena-
recent solo shows include ZYX‑XYZ Kunstsenter (2013) in Bergen,
tion. His work includes photog-
an Autobiography: Odd Times in Norway; Raven Row (2011) in
raphy, drawing, object-making,
Life (2013) at Galerie Sfeir‑Semler London, UK; the Museo Nacional
video and performance art. He
in Hamburg, Germany. She has Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (2011)
has participated in such group
participated in such group exhibi- in Madrid and MACBA (2008) in
exhibitions as the 3rd Bienal da
tions as the 1st Cartagena Biennial Barcelona, both in Spain. His group
Bahia (2014); Reforma e reinvenção
(2014) in Colombia; dOCUMENTA exhibitions include A Singular
(2013) at Museu de Arte Moderna
(13) (2012) in Kassel, Germany; and Form (2014) at Secession in Vienna,
da Bahia MAM‑BA; Levando os
the 10th Sharjah Biennial (2011) in Austria; the 54th Venice Biennale
elepês de Gal para passear...
the United Arab Emirates. (2011) in Italy; In the First Circle
(2011) at ACBEU Gallery; and
(2011‑2012) at Fundació Tapies
Corpoabertocorpofechado (2011),
in Barcelona, Spain; Às artes,
Armando Queiroz Cañizares Gallery, all in Salvador,
Bahia. He received an award at the
cidadãos (2010‑2011) at the Museu
Serralves in Porto, Portugal; the
1968, Belém, Brazil. Lives and Salão de Artes Visuais da Bahia in
4th Bucharest Biennial (2010) in
works in Belém. 2013.
Romania; Manifesta 5 (2004) in
Armando Queiroz is a visual artist Donostia‑San Sebastián, Spain and
as well as working in art institu-
tions. His work, which ranges from
Asger Jorn the 3rd Taipei Biennial (2002) in
Taiwan.
tiny objects to large-scale pieces 1914, Vejrum, Denmark – 1973,
and urban interventions, is based Aarhus, Denmark.
on everyday observations of the
One of the founding members
Basel Abbas
streets, appropriating popular
objects of various origins and using
of the group CoBrA (1948‑1951), and Ruanne
the city and the other as reference
Asger Jorn earned notoriety for
a body of work that ranges from
Abou‑Rahme
material. He has participated in
drawing, painting and graphic arts 1983, Nicosia, Cyprus. Lives
the following exhibitions, among
to ceramics, sculpture, lithography and works in New York, US and
others: the 1st Bienal do Barro do
and tapestries. The majority of Ramallah, Palestine.
Brasil (2014) in Caruaru, Brazil;
his work, which focused on the
the 20th Bienal Internacional de 1983, Boston, US. Lives and works
development of spontaneous
Curitiba (2013) in Brazil; the 64th in New York, US and Ramallah,
and abstract language in Europe,
Salão Paranaense (2012), at the Palestine.
can be found in the collection of
Museum of Contemporary Art
the Jorn Museum in Silkeborg, Since 2008, Basel Abbas and
of Paraná in Curitiba, Brazil; the
Denmark. Jorn co-founded the Ruanne Abou‑Rahme have worked
16th Bienal de Cerveira (2011) in
Situationist International in 1957, together on a series of projects
Portugal; and the 3rd Bienal del
founded the Scandinavian Institute involving sound, image, installa-
Fin del Mundo (2011) in Ushuaia,
for Comparative Vandalism in tion and performance. They have
Argentina. Queiroz was also part
1961 and organised, along with shown their work and performed
of the programme Rumos Artes
photographer Gérard Franceschi, around the world, including at
Visuais (2008‑2009) as an assis-
the vast photographic archive of the 13th Istanbul Biennial (2013) in
tant-curator in charge of mapping
pre-Christian cultural imagery that Turkey; Insert 2014 at the Inlaks
northern Brazil, and was director of
would become 10,000 Years of Shivdasani Foundation in New Deli,
the Museu da Imagem e do Som in
Nordic Folk Art. India; Points of Departure (2013) at
139
the Institute for Contemporary Arts UK; A Policeman, a Line and a anthropology from the Freie
in London, UK and Continuous City Plinth (2013) at Galeria Filomena Univeristät in Berlin, Clara Ianni
(2013) at the Serpentine Pavilion Soares in Lisbon, Portugal; Mar e has displayed her work at the 33rd
in London. They are founders of campo em três momentos (2012) Panorama de Arte Brasileira (2013)
Tashweesh, a collective of sound at Casa das Histórias Paula Rego at Museu de Arte Moderna de
and image performances. in Cascais, Portugal; and Uma São Paulo – MAM, Brazil; the 12th
história de amor (2011) at Chiado8 Istanbul Biennial (2011) in Turkey
Arte Contemporânea in Lisbon, and the 3rd Mostra do Programa
Bik Van der Pol Portugal. de Exposições do CCSP (2012) at
Centro Cultural São Paulo among
1994, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
others. She has participated in
Bik Van der Pol, an artists’ duo Chto Delat artist‑in‑residence programmes
composed of Liesbeth Bik and such as Hiwar: Conversations
2003, Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Jos Van der Pol, explores the in Amman (2013) at Darat Al
potential of the production and The collective Chto Delat Funun, Jordan, Palestine or Bolsa
transmission of knowledge. Their (‘What is to be done’ in Russian) Pampulha (2011) at the Museu
work is based on cooperation and is comprised of Tsaplya Olga de Arte de Pampulha in Belo
an investigation of methods to Egorova, Nikolay Oleynikov, Nina Horizonte, Brazil. She worked as
activate determined situations, as Gasteva and Dmitry Vilensky, curatorial assistant at the Museé
well as the creation of a platform and includes artists, critics, du Louvre and the 7th Berlin
for various types of communica- philosophers and writers from St. Biennial (2012).
tive activities. They also often Petersburg and Moscow. Their
confront the audience with issues work unites political theory, art and
that invite them to take a position. activism through artistic projects, Contrafilé, Grupo
Their recent exhibitions include educational seminars and public
2000, São Paulo, Brazil.
Moderation(s) (2014) at Witte de campaigns, and takes the form
With Centre for Contemporary Art of videos, theatre plays, radio Founded in the year 2000 by Joana
in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and shows and murals. The group, Zatz Mussi, Jerusa Messina, Rafael
Museum of Arte Util (2014) at the which was formerly called Chto Leona, Cibele Lucena and Fábio
Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, Delat?, also publishes an epony- Invamoto, Grupo Contrafilé is an
the Netherlands; the 9th Bienal do mous newspaper. Their recent art-politics-education collective
Mercosul (2013) in Porto Alegre, exhibitions include Not‑in‑Russia concerned with practising the
Brazil; Call of the Mall (2013) at (2014) at Fabrika, Moscow, right to invent in the city. Recent
Hoog Catherijne in Utrecht, the Russia; Former West: Documents, projects include Programa para
Netherlands; and Frieze Projects Constellations, Prospects (2013) a Descatracalização da Própria
(2011) at the Frieze Art Fair in at Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Vida (2004) and A Rebelião das
London, UK. Bik Van der Pol run Berlin, Germany; the 10th Gwangju Crianças (2005) – which spawned
the School of Missing Studies, Biennial (2012) in South Korea; the Parque para Brincar e Pensar
currently at the Sandberg Institute Chto Delat? in Baden‑Baden (2011) and Quintal (2013). The
in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. (2011) at Staatliche Kuntsthalle group has participated in such
Baden‑Baden in Germany; Chto exhibitions as Radical Education
Delat? Perestroika: Twenty Years (2008) at Galerija Škuc in Ljubljana,
Bruno Pacheco After: 2011–1991 (2011) at Kölnischer Slovenia; If You See Something Say
Kunstverein in Cologne, Germany; Something (2007) at the Chrissie
1974, Lisbon, Portugal. Lives and
Ostalgia (2011) at the New Museum Cotter Gallery in Camperdown,
works in Lisbon, Portugal and
in New York, US; Study, Study Australia; and Collective Creativity
London, UK.
and Act Again (2011) at Moderna (2005) at the Fridericianum in
Whether in painting, drawing, Galerija in Ljubljana, Slovenia; and Kassel, Germany.
sculpture or video, Bruno Pacheco The Urgent Need to Struggle (2011)
creates images that appear to at the ICA in London, UK.
deconstruct legitimising discourses Dan Perjovschi
via the opposition between
fragile figures and others that Clara Ianni 1961, Sibiu, Romania. Lives and
works in Sibiu and Bucharest,
are positioned with authority.
1987, São Paulo, Brazil. Lives and Romania.
His paintings, sculptures, instal-
works in São Paulo.
lations and drawings have been Known for the illustrations he
shown at such exhibitions as With a degree in the visual creates for performances or instal-
Sunshine and Sentiment (2014) arts from the University of São lations, Perjovschi has dedicated
at Hollybush Gardens in London, Paulo and a Masters in visual his efforts in recent years to
140
drawing directly on the walls and
windows of museums and art
Débora Maria arte (2010), shown at the Museu
Vale in Vitória and Palácio das
centres across the globe, mixing da Silva Artes in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
local with global and political
1959, Recife, Brazil. She lives and
with social issues. Recent solo
shows include Unframed (2013)
works in Santos, Brazil.
Edward Krasiński
at Kiasma in Helsinki, Finland; Débora Maria da Silva is the
1925, Luck, Poland (currently
Not Over at MACRO (2010) in founder of the group Mães de
part of Ukraine) – 2004, Warsaw,
Rome, Italy; What Happened to Us Maio, which unites the family
Poland.
(2007) at MoMA in New York, members of victims of state-
US; and Perjovschi (2006) at the sponsored violence, specifically Edward Krasiński studied at the
Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven in the hundreds of murders that took Kunstgewerbeschule in Kraków,
the Netherlands. His work has place in 2006 and are known as Poland during World War Two,
appeared in group exhibitions such the ‘Crimes of May’, attributed to then at the Kraków Academy of
as Playtime (2014) at Lenbachhaus, actions taken by police and death Fine Arts. In the 1950s he moved to
Munich, Germany; Promises of the squads linked to the military police. Warsaw. He began his career in the
Past (2010) at Centre Pompidou in Most of the victims were young, early 1960s with shows at Warsaw’s
Paris, France; at the 10th Biennale black or indigenous and poor, and Krzywe Koło Gallery and at
de Lyon (2009) in France; at the were executed in just over a week’s Kraków’s Krzysztofory Gallery, both
52nd Venice Biennale (2007) in time; Débora’s son, Edson Rogério in Poland, presenting his Objects
Italy; and the 9th Istanbul Biennial Silva dos Santos, was one of them. in Space and sculptures that were
(2005) in Turkey. In 2013 he In 2011, the Mães de Maio received minimalistic in their form. In 1966,
received the ECF Princess Margriet the Santo Dias Human Rights with Anka Ptaszkowska, Wiesław
Award, along with Lia Perjovschi. Award; in 2013, the Chico Mendes Borowski, Mariusz Tchorek and
Medal of Resistance and the 2013 Henryk Stażewski, he co-founded
Human Rights Award (the highest the Foksal Gallery. From 1969, he
Danica Dakić honour given by the Brazilian started using blue scotch tape, for
government to people and organ- the first time in the courtyard of
1962, Sarajevo, Bosnia and
isations who do outstanding work the Musée d’art moderne de la Ville
Herzegovina. Lives and works in
to fight human rights violations) in de Paris during the 3éme Salon
Düsseldorf, Germany.
the ‘Confronting violence’ category. International de Galeries Pilotes.
Danica Dakić’s work ranges from They were also awarded the Braz His works have been exhibited
film and video to photography Cubas Medal in 2014, in recogni- in solo shows at Foksal Gallery
and installations, in which she tion of the group’s activism. Foundation (2007 and 2013) in
examines the corporeal and Warsaw; at Generali Foundation
political parameters of language in Vienna (2006), Austria; at
and identity. The social and cultural Éder Oliveira Zachȩta Gallery (1997) in Warsaw;
shaping of roles, as well as the way and at Kunsthalle Basel (1996),
1983, Nova Timboteua, Brazil. Lives
roles are adopted and articulated, Switzerland. His group exhibitions
and works in Belém, Brazil.
are also central motifs for her. include the 10th Tokyo Biennale
Recent solo exhibitions include Éder Oliveira is a painter with a (1970), Japan; and the Guggenheim
presentations at the Museum für degree in arts education from International Exhibition – Sculpture
Moderne Kunst (2013) in Frankfurt, the Federal University of Pará. from Twenty Nations (1967), New
Germany; at the Hammer Museum Since 2004, he has been making York, US.
(2011) in Los Angeles, US; at the work that relates portraiture to
Museum of Contemporary Art cultural identity, always using the
(2010) in Zagreb, Croatia; and at Amazonian people as his inspira- El Hadji Sy
the Generali Foundation (2010) in tion. His work has recently been
1954, Dakar, Senegal. Lives and
Vienna, Austria. She has partici- included in Amazônia, Lugar de
works in Dakar.
pated in such group exhibitions as Experiências (2013) at the Museu
the 1st Kyiv international Biennale da Universidade Federal do Pará – El Hadji Sy studied fine arts at
Arsenale (2012) in Kiev, Ukraine; UFPA in Belém, Brazil; Amazônia, École Nationale des Beaux‑Arts
the 6th Liverpool Biennial (2010) in Ciclos de Modernidade (2012) at in Dakar, Senegal. He makes art
the UK; the Sydney Biennial (2010) Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, using the techniques of painting,
in Australia; documenta 12 (2007) Rio de Janeiro/Brasília, Brazil; O performance and installation, in
in Kassel, Germany and the the 8th triunfo do contemporâneo (2012) at addition to working as a curator
and 11th Istanbul Biennials (2003 the Museu de Arte Contemporânea and a member of the collectives
and 2009) in Turkey. do Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Tenq, Laboratoire AGIT’Art and
Alegre, Brazil; and Amazônia, a Huit Facettes. From 1985 to 1989,
141
he was a guest of the Weltkulturen (born in Chile) and Federico del Perú. The Museo has been
Museum in Frankfurt, where Zukerfeld (born in Argentina), the displayed in contemporary art
he developed a collection of collective’s cofounders, coordinate institutions in cities like São Paulo,
contemporary Senegalese art its archives, exhibitions and other Brazil, Santiago, Chile and Madrid,
and co-edited a critical anthology initiatives. In 2013 Etcétera... Spain. It also came to universi-
about the country’s visual produc- won the International Award for ties in Lima, Peru; Brighton, UK;
tion. In 1995 and 1996 he worked Participatory Art in Bologna, Italy. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Bogotá,
as co-curator of Seven Stories Their international exhibitions Colombia; Mexico City, Mexico
about Modern Art in Africa at the include the 4th Athens Biennial and Quito, Ecuador. Campuzano
Whitechapel Gallery in London, (2013) in Greece; dOCUMENTA wandered and worked in the
UK and Malmö Konsthall in (13) (2012) in Kassel, Germany; streets, and wrote texts that have
Switzerland. the 52nd October Salon (2011) in been published in Saturday Night
Belgrade, Serbia; the 11th Istanbul Thriller y otros escritos, 1998‑2013
Biennial (2009) in Turkey; the 6th (2013) and Museo Travesti del Perú
Erick Beltrán Taipei Biennial (2008) in Taiwan; (2008). In 2013, he received recog-
Collective Creativity (2005), at the nition for his work as an activist for
1974, Mexico City, Mexico. Lives
Fridericianum Museum in Kassel, LGBT rights in Lima. His work was
and works in Barcelona, Spain.
Germany; and Ex‑Argentina (2004), recently presented in the exhibi-
Interested in creating systems Museum Ludwig in Cologne, tions Museo oral de la revolución
capable of organising large quanti- Germany. (2013), at MACBA in Barcelona,
ties of heterogeneous information, Spain; Salon Klimbim (2013) at
Erick Beltrán proposes unconven- Secession in Vienna, Austria; and
tional ways of putting this material Gabriel Mascaro Charming for the Revolution (2013)
into circulation. His work investi- at Tate Modern in London, UK.
1983, Recife, Brazil. Lives and
gates the power relationships that
works in Recife.
exist in the editing process and
the constructions of discourse. His Gabriel Mascaro’s work studies Graziela Kunsch
attempts to address these issues the negotiation of power in its
1979, São Paulo, Brazil. Lives and
range from diagrams to collections most varied manifestations.
works in São Paulo.
of information, archives and media Between film and the visual arts,
inserts. His recent exhibitions his work has been shown at the Graziela Kunsch’s work often
include the solo show Atlas eidolon exhibitions Documentary Fortnight implies an expansion of what is
(2014) at the Museo Tamayo in (2014) at MoMA in New York, US; known as ‘the art public’ in relation
Mexico City, Mexico, and the Cruzamentos: Contemporary Art in to political and social contexts.
group shows Museo del gesto Brazil (2014) at the Wexner Center Within the area of art, she usually
(2013) at La Capella in Barcelona, for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio, US; offers critical responses to certain
Spain; On Group Formation (2013) the 18th Festival of Contemporary ways that institutions operate. She
at the Impakt Festival in Utrecht, Art (2013‑14) at SESC/Videobrasil is co-curator of the projects Arte
the Netherlands; Tropicalia negra in São Paulo, Brazil; the 4th Athens e esfera pública and Esboço para
(2013) at the Museo Experimental Biennial (2013) in Greece; and the novas culturas: projetos de cidades
El Eco in Mexico City; and Game 32nd Panorama de Arte Brasileira em debate. Her work has appeared
Piece (2013), with Bernardo Ortiz, (2012) at MAM in São Paulo, in group exhibitions such as the
at the Wittgenstein Archives/ Brazil. Mascaro participated in the 29th Bienal de São Paulo (2010)
Gallery Volt in Bergen, Norway. artist-in-residence programme in Brazil; The Grand Domestic
Videobrasil – Videoformes in Revolution (2011) at Casco in
Clermont‑Ferrand, France, and was Utrecht, the Netherlands; All That
Etcétera... awarded with an artist’s residency Fits (2011) at Quad in Derby, UK;
at the Wexner Center for the Arts Blind Field (2013) at the Krannert
1997, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
in Ohio, US in 2013. Art Museum in Champaign, US;
Formed in Buenos Aires in 1997, and the solo show Graziela Kunsch
Etcétera... is an interdisciplinary não existe (2000) at FAAP in São
collective comprised of visual Giuseppe Paulo, Brazil. Kunsch is a first-
artists, poets, actors and
performers. In 2005, the group
Campuzano generation member of Movimento
Passe Livre and columnist for
participated in the foundation of 1969 – 2013, Lima, Peru. TarifaZero.org. She is currently
the Internacional Errorista move- studying for her doctorate at
Giuseppe Campuzano was a
ment, an organisation that cele- ECA‑USP and edits the magazine
transvestite philosopher who, in
brates error as a philosophy of life. Urbânia.
2004, created the Museo Travesti
Currently, Loreto Garín Guzmán
142
Gülsün Hudinilson Jr. Tapiès in Barcelona, Spain; and
Die Lucky Bush (2008) at M KHA in
Karamustafa 1957 – 2013, São Paulo, Brazil. Antwerp, Belgium.
1946, Ankara, Turkey. Lives and Hudinilson Jr., a multimedia artist
works in Istanbul, Turkey. and one of the pioneers of Xerox
art in Brazil, studied fine arts
Ines Doujak and
With a degree from the Istanbul
State Fine Arts Academy, Gülsün
at Fundação Armando Álvares John Barker
Penteado, and experimented
Karamustafa investigates ideas of 1959, Klagenfurt, Austria. Lives and
with multiple artistic expressions
mobility and reflects on the socio- works in Vienna, Austria.
– drawing, painting, postal art,
political and economic changes
graffiti, performance and urban 1948, London, UK. Lives and works
of the recent past. Nomadism,
interventions – often featuring the in London and Vienna.
immigration, expatriation and exile
male human body as a recurring
appear in her work, which includes Ines Doujak and John Barker
theme. In 1979 he founded the
painting, collage, installation and work together through a common
group 3NÓS3 with artists Rafael
video. She participated in the interest in the political dimension
França and Mario Ramiro, which
4th Thessaloniki Biennial (2013) of cultural exchanges. Doujak, a
made interventions in São Paulo’s
in Greece; 1st Kyiv international feminist artist who uses various
urban landscape in the 1980s.
Biennale Arsenale (2012) in Kiev, media, initiated Loomshuttles/
Some of the major exhibitions
Ukraine; the 3rd Singapore Biennial Warpaths, an extensive study of
which have featured his work are
(2011); the 11th Cairo Biennial (2008) textiles to investigate their global
Glasgow International (2014) in the
in Egypt; the 2nd Guangzhou history, characterised by cultural,
UK; Obra e documento – Arte/Ação
Triennial (2005) in China; the 8th class and gender conflict. Barker,
e 3NÓS3 (2012) at Centro Cultural
Bienal de La Habana (2003) in a writer, essayist and performer
São Paulo in Brazil; the 3rd Bienal
Cuba; the 3rd Cetinje Biennial who since the 1970s has been
do Mercosul (2001) in Porto Alegre,
(2003) in Montenegro; the 3rd focused on economics, geopolitical
Brazil; and the 1st Bienal de La
Gwangju Biennial (2000) in South dynamics and the exploitation of
Habana (1984) in Cuba.
Korea; and the 2nd, 3rd and 4th labour, was invited to collaborate
Istanbul Biennials (1987, 1992 and on the project. Between 2012 and
1995) in Turkey.
Imogen 2013 Loomshuttles/Warpaths has
been exhibited, among others,
Stidworthy at Fields, National Art Museum
Halil Altındere 1963, London, UK. She lives and
in Riga, Latvia; Not Dressed for
Conquering, Royal College of Art in
1971, Mardin, Turkey. Lives and works in Liverpool, UK.
London, UK; Acts of Voicing, Total
works in Istanbul, Turkey.
Imogen Stidworthy works with Museum in Seoul, South Korea;
Halil Altındere’s work is focused on voice and language in order to 54th October Salon, The Cultural
the resistance to repressive struc- reflect on how we are located Centre of Belgrade in Serbia;
tures and marginalisation within physically and culturally. Her solo the 8th Busan Biennale in South
the official systems of representa- exhibitions include Volumes of Korea; and Art and Fashion, MMK
tion. His most recent work explores Stone (2013) at Galerie Raum mit in Vienna, Austria. Currently Ines
Istanbul’s daily life and the codes Licht in Vienna, Austria; Sacha Doujak works, together with Oliver
of its subcultures. He has shown (2013) at Akinci in Amsterdam, the Ressler, on the research and exhibi-
his work at venues such as MoMA Netherlands; (.) (2011) at Matt’s tion project Utopian Pulse: Flares
PS1 (2014), New York, US; CA2M Gallery in London, UK; and Imogen in the Darkroom at Secession in
(2013), Móstoles, Spain; ZKM Stidworthy (2010) at Arnolfini in Vienna, Austria. Between 2010 and
(2011), Karlsruhe, Germany; the Bristol, UK. She participated in 2011 she participated in Principio
9th Sharjah Biennial (2009) in the the 1st Bergen Triennale (2013), Potosí/Das Potosi‑Prinzip/The
United Arab Emirates; documenta Norway; the 8th Busan Biennale Potosi Principle at the Museo
12 (2007) in Kassel, Germany; (2012) in South Korea; the 52nd Nacional Centro de Arte Reina
Manifesta 4 (2002) in Frankfurt, October Salon (2011) in Belgrade, Sofía in Madrid, Spain; Haus
Germany; the 4th Gwangju Biennial Serbia; and documenta 12 (2007) der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin,
(2002) in South Korea; the 24th in Kassel, Germany. Stidworthy Germany and Museo Nacional de
Bienal de São Paulo (1998) in Brazil; was also curator of two exhibi- Arte in La Paz, Bolivia. Her work
and the 5th, 9th and 13th Istanbul tions addressing the borders of Victory Gardens was shown at
Biennials (1997, 2005 and 2013) in language: In the First Circle (in documenta 12 (2007) in Kassel,
Turkey. He is also editor and art collaboration with Paul Domela) Germany.
director for the Istanbul-based (2011‑2012) at Fundació Antoni
magazine Art‑Ist Contemporary Art.
143
Jo Baer Biennial (2011) in Turkey; and the
7th Bienal do Mercosul (2009) in
Argentina; Paradoja (2013) at the
Museo Haroldo Conti in Buenos
1929, Seattle, US. Lives and works Porto Alegre, Brazil. Aires, Argentina; and Violencia
in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. (2011‑2012), at the Morsbroich
Museum in Cologne, Germany
Jo Baer was one of the key artists
of the Minimalist painting move-
Jonas Staal and the Fondation Cartier in Paris,
France. Among his group exhibi-
ment in New York in the 1960s 1981, Zwolle, the Netherlands.
tions, highlights include the 7th
and the first half of the 70s. It Lives and works in Rotterdam, the
Bienal do Mercosul (2009) in Porto
was during this period that she Netherlands.
Alegre, Brazil; the 4th Ljubljana
executed her series of squares in
Jonas Staal investigates the International Biennial of Graphic
varying sizes, as well as vertical
relationship between art, democ- Arts (2001) in Slovenia; and the
and horizontal rectangles in the
racy and propaganda. He is the 7th Bienal de La Habana (2001) in
hard-edge style, pieces that she
founder of the artistic and political Cuba.
would later expand into split
organisation New World Summit,
arrangements like diptychs and
which develops parliaments for
triptychs. Her most recent solo
exhibitions include Jo Baer:
stateless organisations banned Juan Downey
from democratic discourse, and
Gemälde und Zeichnungen seit 1940, Santiago, Chile – 1993, New
the New World Academy (with
1960 (Drawings and Paintings) York, US.
BAK, basis voor actuele kunst, in
(2013) at the Museum Ludwig in
Utrecht, the Netherlands), which Juan Downey travelled through
Cologne, Germany, and In the
invites stateless organisations to Latin America on several occa-
Land of the Giants (2013) at the
research with artists and students sions in search of ‘an invisible
Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam,
the role of art in political struggle. architecture’ formed by channels
the Netherlands.
Staal’s long-term research into the of communication between a
instrumental role of art in contem- variety of groups. Seeing himself
Johanna Calle porary politics resulted, amongst
others, in the free mobile phone
as a ‘cultural communicator and
activating aesthetic anthropolo-
1965, Bogotá, Colombia. Lives and application Ideological Guide to gist’, he sought to deconstruct the
works in Bogotá. the Venice Biennale (2013) and his centralising vision of the world
book and installation Nosso Lar, established by Western culture.
Johanna Calle studied art at the
Brasília (2014), in which he explores His work has been part of exhibi-
Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá
the relationship between Spiritism tions at the Guggenheim Museum
and at Chelsea College of Art
and Modernism in Brazilian (2014) in New York, US; Museo
in London, UK. Her recent solo
architecture. Rufino Tamayo (2013) in Mexico
shows include Foto‑gramática
City, Mexico; Haus der Kulturen
(2013) at Galerie Krinzinger in
der Welt (2010) in Berlin, Germany;
Vienna, Austria; Intertexts (2012)
at Galeria Marilia Razuk in São
Juan Carlos Sala Telefónica (2010) in Santiago,
Paulo, Brazil; Irregular Hexagon Romero Chile, and the IVAM (1997) in
Valencia, Spain.
(2012) at San Arte in Ho Chi Minh,
1931, Avellaneda, Argentina.
Vietnam; Submergentes: A Drawing
Lives and works in Buenos Aires,
Approach on Masculinities (2011) at
MoLAA in Long Beach, US; Signos
Argentina. Juan Pérez
(2011) at Casas Riegner Gallery in Throughout his career, Juan Carlos Agirregoikoa
Bogotá, Colombia and Zona Maco Romero has been part of groups
1963, Donostia‑San Sebastián,
Sur (2010) in Mexico City, Mexico. dedicated to visual experiences
Spain. Lives and works in Paris,
She has also participated in and public interventions. He has
France.
group shows including SITELines: won several awards, including
Unsettled Landscapes (2014) in the Gran Premio de Honor de Juan Pérez Agirregoikoa’s work is
New Mexico, US; Lines (2014) Grabado del LXIII Salón Nacional concerned with the ability of visual
at Hauser and Wirth in Zürich, de Artes Plásticas in Buenos Aires, and written language to challenge
Switzerland; the 19th Bienal de Argentina; the United Nations those who come into contact
Arte Paiz (2014) in Guatemala City, Award (with Grupo de los Trece) with it, questioning what types of
Guatemala; Marking Language in Yugoslavia; and the 1st Joan subjects we are, or allow ourselves
(2013) at the Drawing Room, Brossa Visual Poetry Award to be. His drawings, tapestries
London, UK; the 12th Istanbul in Spain. His most recent solo and films have been shown in
shows are Yo Acuso (2013) at the exhibitions such as Culture Is
Museo de la Memoria in La Plata, What Is Done to Us (2014), Clages
144
Gallery, Cologne, Germany; Erased France; and The Last Days of in 2013 and a grant from The Pais
(2012) at the Gallery Clages in Watteau (2012) at Galeria Fortes (the Israeli state-run lottery) in
Cologne, Germany; Do You Want Vilaça in São Paulo, Brazil. 2012.
a Master? You Will Have It (2010)
at the Museo Nacional Centro
de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, Lázaro Saavedra León Ferrari
Spain; Personal (Civil) War (2010)
1964, Havana, Cuba. Lives and 1920 – 2013, Buenos Aires,
at Carreras Mugica in Bilbao,
works in Havana. Argentina.
Spain; and Lonely at the Top (2008)
at M HKA in Antwerp, Belgium. Lázaro Saavedra holds a degree Renowned for his provocative work
His group shows include Tratado in painting from the Superior against the military government in
de paz (2013) at the San Telmo Institute of Art of Havana, and he Argentina and the Catholic church,
Museo in Donostia‑San Sebastián, has taught visual arts at his alma multimedia artist, poet and political
Spain; the 31st Panorama de mater and the college of artistic activist León Ferrari experimented
Arte Brasileira (2009) at MAM education at the Instituto Superior with a variety of artistic languages
in São Paulo, Brazil; Santhal Pedagógico Enrique José Varona. in a career that spans over six
Family, Positions Around an Indian His pictorial work is complemented decades. In addition to drawings,
Sculpture (2008) at M KHA, by installations and performances, writing and collages, Ferrari devel-
Antwerp, Belgium; and the 9th as well as other media. From the oped projects with video, sound
Biennale de Lyon (2007) in France. late 1980s to the early 90s he installation, postal art and artist’s
contributed illustrations and design books. He lived in Brazil from 1976
to the publications Albur, Credo to 1991, in exile during Argentina’s
Kasper Akhøj and and Memoria de la postguerra. military dictatorship. His exhibi-
Tamar Guimarães His work has been exhibited
in Todo final es el comienzo de
tions include Luces de León (2010)
at Fondo Nacional de las Artes
1967, Belo Horizonte, Brasil. algo desconocido (2002) at Laab in Buenos Aires, Argentina; León
Lives and works in Copenhagen, Ateliers in Basel, Switzerland; Ferrari y Mira Schendel: El alfabeto
Denmark. Overtures‑über Wasser (2002) enfurecido (2009) at MoMA in New
in Gelsenkirchen, Germany; York, US and MNCARS (2010),
1976, Copenhagen, Denmark. Lives
Atravesados (2002) at Fundación Madrid, Spain; the 52nd Venice
and works in Copenhagen.
Telefónica in Madrid, Spain; and Biennale (2007) in Italy; the 17th,
Tamar Guimarães and Kasper Global Imprint: Prints from New 18th and 27th editions of the Bienal
Akhøj’s work involves the reconfig- Jersey to South Africa and Points de São Paulo (1983, 1985 and 2006)
uration and appropriation of tools Between (2002) at the Mason Gross in Brazil; Objeto inusitado (1978) at
used by sociologists, historians School of Arts Galleries in New Paço das Artes in São Paulo; and
and ethnographers. Situated in the Jersey, US. In 2007 he founded the Buenos Aires 64 (1964) at MoMA in
field of conceptual narrative, they gallery I‑MEIL, an ongoing project New York.
explore the objects, situations and that uses electronic media as a
historical residues of art, design, vehicle for artistic creation.
architecture and the institutions Lia Perjovschi
that represent them, reenacting
past events in order to examine Leigh Orpaz 1961, Sibiu, Romania. Lives and
works in Bucharest and Sibiu,
the conditions of the present. They
1977, New York, US. Lives and Romania.
also focus on uncovering relation-
works in Tel Aviv, Israel.
ships, moving from the geopolitical With a degree from the Art
sphere to the personal, and seeking Leigh Orpaz creates supernatural Academy of Bucharest, Lia
to alter the way we understand images of individuals, places and Perjovschi is the founder and
our surroundings, ourselves and gatherings through photography coordinator of CAA/CAA
others. Their recent exhibitions and video. Her work has been (Contemporary Art Archive and
include The Encyclopedic Palace shown at MACRO (2013) in Rome, Center for Art Analysis) – an
(2013) at the 55th Venice Biennale Italy; the Tel Aviv Museum of Art organic and ongoing project – and
in Italy; the 11th Sharjah Biennial (2011) in Israel; Galleria Fuoricampo the Knowledge Museum, through
(2013) in the United Arab Emirates; (2011) in Siena, Italy; the Inga which she has been developing
The Afterlife (of Names and Things) Gallery (2011) in Tel Aviv, Israel; interdisciplinary studies. Her
(2012) at Satelite – Jeu de Paume, and the Taipei Museum of Fine pieces, in addition to being the
Paris, France/Maison d’art Bernard Arts (2008) in Taiwan. Orpaz was theme of lectures and workshops,
Anthonioz, Nogent‑sur‑Marne, awarded the Young Artist Award have been displayed in solo and
from the Israeli Ministry of Culture group shows around the world,
including dOCUMENTA (13)
145
(2012) in Kassel, Germany; Van
Abbemuseum (2010) in Eindhoven,
of local and global issues. In
addition to performance works,
María Berríos and
the Netherlands; Tate Modern installations, videos and urban Jakob Jakobsen
(2008) in London, UK; the Nasher interventions, their repertoire
1978, Santiago, Chile. Lives and
Museum of Art at Duke University includes radio works, theatre and
works in London, UK.
in Durham, US; and the Centre opera. Among their most recent
Pompidou (2007) in Paris, France. projects are Los incontados: un tríp- 1965, Copenhagen, Denmark. Lives
tico (2014); Discurso de un hombre and works in London.
decente (2012) and Los santos
Lilian L’Abbate inocentes (2010). The group also
Since 2013 María Berríos and Jakob
Jakobsen have been working on
Kelian includes members Juan Ernesto
Díaz, Pierre Magnin, José Ignacio
the collaborative research project
The Revolution Must Be a School
1976, São Paulo, Brazil. Lives and Rincón, Santiago Sepúlveda
of Unfettered Thought, presented
works in São Paulo. and Ximena Vargas. Heidi and
at the 31st Bienal. They consider
Rolf Abderhalden teach at the
Lilian L’Abbate Kelian is a historian revolutionary research to recall
Universidad Nacional de Colombia.
with a degree from the University the fleeting tradition of the early
of São Paulo. For the last ten years twentieth-century ‘diagonal
she has worked with children
and young adult education in the
Marcelo Rodrigues science’ that understood it is not
enough to agglomerate different
training of educators, manage- 1965, Belém, Brazil. Lives and sciences around a subject, but that
ment and institutional evaluation works in Belém. interdisciplinary work consists in
of educational projects from ‘constructing a new object that
Marcelo Rodrigues begun his work
the perspective of democratic cannot belong to anyone’. Their
as cinematographer in 1997, with
education. She is the co-founder research project follows past
the alternative communication
of Escola Lumiar and Associação attempts at articulating a kind of
project launched by the munici-
Politeia and, since 2003, has ‘anthropological materialism’ that
pality of Belém. During the 8 years
been jointly responsible for the considers phenomenological and
he was there, and through his work
Democratic Education course. concrete experience as crucial sites
with the Instituto de Artes do Pará,
Founder and associate researcher of contestation. Previous collabora-
he developed relationships and
at the Nucleus of Psychopathology, tions include participation in the
collaborations with visual artists,
Public Policy for Mental Health and Antiknow Research Group at Flat
and worked with them in the
Communicative Public Healthcare Time House in London (2013‑2014),
production of projects of artistic
Actions at the University of São as well as the co-edition of the
research and experimentation.
Paulo (NUPSI), L’Abbate Kelian publication Wages for Students
Among the artists he worked with
currently works for the Urban (2014).
are Armando Queiroz, Danielle
Youth Program at the Center for
Fonseca, Afonso Gallindo, Paula
Studies and Research in Education,
Culture and Community Action
Sampaio, Adriano Barroso, Jorane
Castro and Melissa Barbery. He
Mark Lewis
(CENPEC).
was director of photography for 1958, Hamilton, Canada. Lives and
the documentaries O Negro no works in London, UK.
Mapa Teatro – Pará: Cinco Séculos Depois, Rios de
Terras e Águas and Mestre Vieira,
Mark Lewis’s films are often repre-
Laboratorio de Mestre Damasceno. He is director
sentations of daily life that make
subtle and frequently accidental
Artistas of images for the Newton Project
at the Federal University of Pará
allusions to the traditions of
cinema, photography and painting.
1984, Paris, France. Currently (UFPA), and studies publicity and
Recent solo shows include Mark
based in Bogotá, Colombia. marketing at the Faculdade Estácio
Lewis: Invention au Louvre (2014)
do Pará – FAP, also in Pará.
A laboratory of artists dedicated at the Musée du Louvre in Paris,
to transdisciplinary creation, Mapa France; Mark Lewis: Pull Focus
Teatro was founded by visual (2013) at the Van Abbemuseum in
and performing artists Heidi and Eindhoven, the Netherlands; Mark
Rolf Abderhalden, both of whom Lewis: Cold Morning (2009) at the
are Colombians of Swiss origin. 53rd Venice Biennale in Italy; and
Interested in the transgression of Mark Lewis: Modern Time (2007)
geographical, linguistic and artistic at the Vancouver Art Gallery in
borders, Mapa Teatro proposes a Canada. His film Black Mirror at
poetic and political confrontation the National Gallery (2011) was
146
screened at several international career he has produced artist’s Thriller y otros escritos, 1998‑2013
film festivals, including the 68th books and held exhibitions at (2013) and ¿Y qué si la democracia
Venice International Film Festival galleries and museums, such as ocurre? (2012).
(2011), in Italy, and the 36th Toronto Tea Party in Baghdad (2003) at
International Film Festival (2011), Weizmann Square in Holon, Israel.
in Canada. Among his more His work has appeared in group Mujeres Creando
recent projects is a series of films exhibitions including Domesticated
1992, La Paz, Bolivia.
shot in the Korean demilitarised (2000) at the International Art
zone (2013). He is cofounder and Fair at the Refusalon Gallery in The Bolivian feminist movement
co-director of Afterall, a publica- San Francisco, US, and Three Mujeres Creando, coordinated by
tion and research organisation Artists, Three Installations – Three Maria Galindo and Esther Argollo,
based at Central Saint Martins in Solo Exhibitions by Sophie Calle, sees creativity as an instrument
London, UK. Khalil Rabah and Michael Kessus for social activism, operating via
Gedalyovich (1997) at the Festival television, radio, graffiti and other
Fenêtre au Sud in Cergy‑Pontoise, urban interventions in the cities of
Marta Neves France. He is the cofounder of Bolivia. Mujeres Creando runs the
the magazine Maarav, the first house Virgen de los Deseos in La
1964, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Lives
Israeli online publication of art and Paz, and they have participated in
and works in Belo Horizonte.
culture. art exhibitions such as Principio
Marta Neves has a degree in Potosí/Das Potosi‑Prinzip/The
drawing and animated film and Potosi Principle (2010-2011) at the
a Masters degree in visual arts Miguel A. López Museo Nacional Centro de Arte
from the Federal University of Reina Sofía in Madrid, Spain; Haus
1983, Lima, Peru. He lives and
Minas Gerais. She works with der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin,
works in Lima.
a variety of media, including Germany and Museo Nacional de
urban intervention, performance, Miguel A. López is a writer, Arte in La Paz, Bolivia; and the 26th
photography, video, digital images artist and researcher. His most Bienal de São Paulo (2007) in Brazil.
and embroidery. One of her recent recent curatorial projects include
solo projects is the performance Pulso Alterado: Intensidades en
Eu não sou cantora (2014) at the la Colección del MUAC y sus Nahum Zenil
Memorial Minas Gerais Vale in Belo Colecciones Asociadas (2013‑2014)
1947, Chicontepec, Mexico. Lives
Horizonte, Brazil. She has partici- in partnership with Sol Henaro,
and works in Tenango del Aire and
pated, among others, in the 27th at MUAC‑UNAM in Mexico City,
Mexico City, Mexico.
Panorama da Arte Brasileira (2001) Mexico; and Perder la forma
at MAM, São Paulo/Salvador/ humana: Una imagen sísmica Nahum Zenil’s art deals with the
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 3rd Bienal de los años ochenta en América traditional Catholicism in which he
do Mercosul (2001), Porto Alegre, Latina (2012‑2014), curated by was raised, the mythology of the
Brazil; Amalgames brésiliens (2005) Red Conceptualismos del Sur indigenous communities and the
at the Musée de l’Hôtel‑Dieu at MNCARS in Madrid, Spain, importance of the modern imagery
in Mantes‑la‑Jolie, France; and MALI, Lima, Peru and Universidad of artists such as Frida Kahlo and
Japan‑Brazil: Creative Art Session Nacional Tres de Febrero, Buenos Diego Rivera. In much of his work,
2008 at the Kawasaki Museum in Aires, Argentina. He has published the artist appears in self-portraits
Japan. his writing in such newspapers and with his partner, Gerardo Vilchis,
magazines as Afterall, ramona, who plays the role of companion,
Manifesta Journal, E‑flux Journal, alter ego, guardian angel and
Michael Kessus Art in America, The Exhibitionist, sexual outlaw. Zenil has been a
Gedalyovich ArtNexus and Art Journal. He is
one of the authors of Post‑ilusiones:
tireless supporter of LGBT rights in
Mexico, both through his painting
1960, Haifa, Israel. Lives and works Nuevas visiones, arte crítico en and as part of the organisation
in Neve Michael, Israel. Lima, 1980‑2006 (2006), published of the Gay and Lesbian Cultural
by Fundación Augusto N. Wiese, Week at the Museo Universitario
Michael Kessus Gedalyovich
and Teresa Burga: informes, del Chopo since 1987, in partner-
dedicates his efforts to painting as
esquemas, intervalos, 17.9.10 (2011), ship with the gay rights march in
well as writing. The graphic novel
published by the ICPNA. He is the Mexico City, Mexico. His most
that he is currently working on is
editor of A Wandering Body. Sergio important exhibitions include
titled The Imaginary Weak/They
Zevallos in the Grupo Chaclacayo Nahum B. Zenil: presente (1991) at
Buried My Faith, in Search After the
(1982‑1994) (2014); Giuseppe the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo
Lost Grave of the False Messiah,
Campuzano: Saturday Night in Monterrey, Mexico; Nahum B.
Sabbatai Zevi. Throughout his
Zenil: Witness to the Self (1997)
147
at the Mexican Museum in San identity politics. She has partici- Awolowo in Ife, Nigeria, and
Francisco, US; and El gran circo del pated in such international exhibi- continued her education at
mundo (1999) at the Museo de Arte tions as the 17th and 18th Festivals the École Superieure des
Moderno in Mexico City. of Contemporary Art (2012 and Beaux‑Arts in Paris, France and
2013), SESC/Videobrasil in São the Rijksakademie van beeldende
Paulo, Brazil; Where To (2012) at kunsten in Amsterdam, the
Nilbar Güreş the Israeli Center for Digital Art in Netherlands, where she also
Holon, Israel; Videonale 13 (2011) earned her Masters degree at
1977, Istanbul, Turkey. Lives and
in Bonn, Germany; Face à l’oracle DasArts. Her recent presenta-
works in Vienna, Austria and
(2008) at Cinémathèque Française tions and performances include
Istanbul.
in Paris, France; the 15th Sydney Diaspore (2014) at 14 Rooms in
Güreş has a degree in painting Biennial (2006) in Australia; and Basel, Switzerland; In Pursuit
from Marmara University’s School the 52nd International Short Film of Bling (2014) at the 8th Berlin
of Fine Arts in Istanbul, Turkey Festival Oberhausen (2006) in Biennale, Germany; Glimmer
and a Masters, also in painting, Germany. Fragments in Symposium Landings:
from the Akademie der bildenden Confrontation and Confession
Künste, Vienna, Austria. Some of (2014) at the Stedelijk Museum in
her recent exhibitions are SeMA Ocaña Amsterdam, the Netherlands; the
Biennale (2014), in Seoul, South 11th Sharjah Biennial (2013) in the
1947, Cantillana, Spain – 1983,
Korea; EVA International – Ireland’s United Arab Emirates; Across the
Seville, Spain.
Biennial (2014), in Limerick; Board: Politics of Representation
Meeting Points 7: Ten Thousand A popular painter, anarchist and (2012) at Tate Modern in London,
Wiles and A Hundred Thousand LGBT activist, Ocaña lived and UK; Inventing the World: The
Tricks (2014), at 21er Haus in worked in Barcelona from 1973 to Artist as Citizen at the Benin
Vienna, Austria; the 6th Berlin 1983. He played a central role in Biennial (2012) in Cotonou, Benin;
Biennial (2010) in Germany; Where Barcelona’s underground scene Tropicomania: The Social Life of
Do We Go From Here? (2010) at and the Spanish counterculture Plants (2012), at Betónsalon in
Secession in Vienna, Austria; the as a whole, and was known for Paris, France (2012); and Object
11th Istanbul Biennial (2009) in causing scandals when walking Atlas (2012) at the Weltkulturen
Turkey; and the travelling exhibition the streets dressed as a woman. Museum in Frankfurt, Germany.
Tactics of Invisibility (2010‑2011), He was a papier-mâché artist, She was a guest artist as part of
shown at Thyssen‑Bornemisza Art film star and transvestite. He the 2013‑2014 Artists-in-Berlin
Contemporary in Vienna, Austria, maintained an eccentric relation- programme (DAAD) in Germany.
Tanas in Berlin, Germany and ship with the art world, realising
Arter in Istanbul, Turkey. Her solo a series of public actions that fell
shows include Open Phone Booth somewhere between childlike Pedro G. Romero /
(2013) at Martin Janda in Vienna,
Austria; Nilbar Güreş: Window
games and political activism. Some
of his most important presenta-
Archivo F.X.
Commission (2010) at Rivington tions are Andalucía (1977) at the 1964, Aracena, Spain. Lives in
Place in London, UK; and Unknown Galería Mec‑Mec in Barcelona; Seville, Spain.
Sports, Indoor Exercises (2009) at his cross-dressing interventions
Romero is part of the PRPC
Salzburger Kunstverein in Salzburg, at the Jornadas Libertarias
(Plataforma de Reflexión de
Austria. Internacionales in 1977, also in
Políticas Culturales) in Seville and
Barcelona; his participation in the
a member of the content staff for
movie Ocaña, retrato intermitente
Nurit Sharett (1978), directed by Ventura Pons;
the project UNIA arteypensamiento
at the Universidad Internacional
the exhibition La Primavera (1980)
1963, Tel Aviv, Israel. Lives and de Andalucía. He is curator of the
at La Capella in Barcelona; and his
works in Tel Aviv. project Tratado de paz, enlisted
performance in Jésus Garay’s film
for Donostia Capital Cultural 2016.
A video artist, Sharett studied Manderley (1980).
Since the late 1990s, he has been
photography and film at the
working on two distinct, ongoing
Camera Obscura School of Art
in Tel Aviv, Israel; at Gruppe fuer Otobong Nkanga projects: Archivo F.X. and Máquina
P.H. The project La ciudad vacía
Autodidaktische Fotografie Zürich,
1974, Kano, Nigeria. Lives and (2009) at Fundació Antoni Tápies
Switzerland; and at the Beit Berl
works in Antwerp, Belgium. in Barcelona; De economía cero
College for Art in Kfar Saba, Israel.
(2012), developed at the Museu
In a poetic and personal manner, A visual artist and performer,
Picasso in Barcelona as part of the
her work examines the complexity Nkanga began her art studies at
exhibition Economía: Picasso and
of life in Israel as well as issues of the Obafemi National University
148
the small anthology Wirtschaft,
Ökonomie, Konjunktur (2014),
Prabhakar Romy Pocztaruk
staged at the Württembergischer Pachpute 1983, Porto Alegre, Brazil. Lives and
Kunstverein Stuttgart in Germany, works in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
1986, Chandrapur, India. Lives in
are all part of Archivo F.X. His
Mumbai, India. Romy Pocztaruk’s photography
work as art director for flamenco
and video work deals with simula-
dancer Israel Galván, the curating Prabhakar Pachpute’s work,
tions and the positions from which
of Ocaña, 1973‑1983, actuaciones, employing charcoal drawings as
the artist interacts with different
acciones, activismo (2011‑2012), at well as other media, generally
places. She has participated in
La Virreina – Centre de la Image deals with issues that concern
such exhibitions as BRICS (2014),
in Barcelona and Centro Cultural specific geographic locations. They
Oi Futuro Flamengo in Rio de
Montehermoso in Vitoria‑Gasteiz, are a mixture of stories heard with
Janeiro, Brazil; Convite à Viagem
Spain and the realisation of the thoughts discovered during the
– Rumos Artes Visuais (2011‑2013),
Plataforma Independiente de process of art making. His work
Itaú Cultural, São Paulo/Rio de
Estudios Flamencos Modernos y has been shown at, among others,
Janeiro/Goiânia, Brazil; the 9th
Contemporáneos are all included Social Fabric (2013) at IFA Gallery,
Bienal do Mercosul (2013) in Porto
in Máquina P.H. In 2013, he Stuttgart, Germany; L’Exigence
Alegre, Brazil; Region 0 – The
released the novels Los Países, de la saudade (2013) at the Kadist
Latino Video Art Festival of New
and Exaltación de la visión, both in Art Foundation in Paris, France;
York (2013), US; the 64th Salão
Spain. Black or White (2013) at Van
Paranaense (2012) at the Museum
Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, the
of Contemporary Art of Paraná
Netherlands; and Canary in a Coal
Peter Pál Pelbart Mine (2012) at the Clark House in
in Curitiba, Brazil; Mostra III
Prêmio Diário Contemporâneo de
Mumbai, India.
1956, Budapest, Hungary. Lives and Fotografia (2012), Casa das Onze
works in São Paulo, Brazil. Janelas, Belém, Brazil; Simulated
Peter Pál Pelbart studied Qiu Zhijie Pathways (2011) at Skalitzer 140 in
Berlin, Germany; the Amsterdam
philosophy in Paris and is currently
1969, Zhangzhou, China. Lives and Biennial (2009) in the Netherlands;
a professor at PUC‑SP. He has
works in Beijing, China. and All Photographers Now (2006)
written about madness, time,
at the Musée de l’Elysée in Paris,
subjectivity and biopolitics. His Qiu Zhijie is an artist, art critic
France. She has also taken part in
books include O avesso do niilismo: and curator, and his work recur-
artist-in-residence programmes
Cartografias do esgotamento rently features the languages of
in China (Sunhoo Creatives
[Nihilism Inside Out: Cartographies calligraphy, photography and
in Residency), Berlin (Takt
of Exhaustion] (2013), Vida Capital: video-installation. In his writing
Kunstprojektraum) and New York
Ensaios de Biopolítica [Capital Life: about conceptual art in China
(the Bronx Museum), sponsored by
Essays on Biopolitics] (2003) and O in the mid‑1990s, he introduced
the Iberê Camargo grant for artist
tempo não reconciliado: Imagens the so-called ‘controversy of
residencies.
de tempo em Deleuze [Time signification’, a debate relevant
Unreconciled: Images of Time in to recent theory on Chinese art.
Deleuze] (1998). He has translated
some of Gilles Deleuze’s books to
Some of his exhibitions are the
25th Bienal de São Paulo (2002)
ruangrupa
Portuguese. He has been a member in Brazil; Inside Out: New Chinese 2000, Jakarta, Indonesia.
of Cia Teatral Ueinzz since its Art (1998) at MoMa PS1 in New
An initiative of artists created in
foundation in 1997. He has been York, US; Beijing in London (1999)
Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia,
involved in several projects with at the ICA in London, UK; Power
ruangrupa is a non-profit organ-
the group, including an ongoing of the Word (2000) at Faulconer
isation whose efforts focus on
collaboration with Alejandra Gallery/Grinnell College in the US;
supporting the idea of art within
Riera. He is also co-editor of n-1 Translated Acts: Performance and
the urban and cultural context.
publications. Body Art from East Asia (2001),
By involving artists and profes-
shown at the Haus der Kulturen der
sionals from other disciplines
Welt in Berlin, Germany and the
such as social sciences, politics,
Queens Museum in New York. In
technology and media, the group
2001 Zhijie was the executive editor
proposes a critical observation of
of the art magazine Nextwave.
Indonesia’s contemporary urban
issues. The collective also produces
collaborative artistic projects in
the form of exhibitions, workshops,
149
festivals and a laboratory for
art and research, in addition to
the Irish Museum of Modern Art
(2014) in Dublin; Iniva (2011) in
Teresa Lanceta
publishing books, magazines and London, UK; the NAS Gallery 1951, Barcelona, Spain. Lives in
an online periodical. (2010) in Sydney, Australia; and Alicante, Spain.
the Office for Contemporary Art
Teresa Lanceta holds a degree in
Norway (2010) in Oslo, Norway.
Sergio Zevallos The group shows in which she has
modern and contemporary history
and a PhD in art history. She is a
participated include the 1st Kochi
1962, Lima, Peru. Lives in Berlin, specialist in Moroccan fabrics and
Muziris Bienniale (2012) in India;
Germany, and works in different the textile production of Muslim
the 3rd Singapore Biennial (2011);
cities in Latin America and Europe. Spain. Her work has been shown
the 53rd Venice Biennale (2009)
at the Sala La Lonja del Pescado
Sergio Zevallos began his career in Italy; the 10th Sharjah Biennial
(2009) in Alicante, Spain; at Villa
as a founding member of the (2008) in the United Arab Emirates;
des Arts (2001) in Casablanca,
group Chaclacayo (1982‑1994), and Santhal Family: Positions around an
Morocco; at the Museo Nacional
relocated to Germany together Indian Sculpture (2008), M HKA in
Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
with the collective in 1989. He Antwerp, Belgium; documenta 12
(2000) in Madrid, Spain; at the
works with photography, installa- (2007) in Kassel, Germany; and the
Université de Touloue Le Mirail
tion, performance and site-specific 1st Johannesburg Biennial (1995)
(1994) in Toulouse, France; and at
projects. His work is concerned in South Africa. In 2013‑2014, she
the Museu Tèxtil i d’Indumentària
with themes of transcultural and was a DAAD artist-in-residence in
(1989) in Barcelona, Spain, among
gender identity, the relationships Berlin.
other institutions. Lanceta also
between individuals and power and
works on documentaries about
between the personal and public
realm. His exhibitions include Teatro da Vertigem women weavers and women in the
tobacco industry. She currently
Un cuerpo ambulante (2013) at
1991, São Paulo, Brazil. teaches artistic languages at Escola
MALI, Lima, Peru; Perder la forma
Massana in Barcelona.
humana (2012-2014), MNCARS, Teatro da Vertigem began with
in Madrid, Spain, MALI, Lima experiments based on classical
and Universidad Nacional Tres de
Febrero, Buenos Aires, Argentina;
mechanics applied to the acting
craft, which culminated in its
Thiago Martins
Press Art, Die Sammlung Annette first show, O paraíso perdido de Melo
und Peter Nobelen (2010) at the (1992). In 1998 O livro de Jó was
1981, São Luís, Brazil. Lives and
Museum der Moderne in Salzburg, the first production to represent
works in São Luís.
Austria; Arte no es vida: Actions by Brazil at the 3rd Anton Chekhov
Artists of the Americas, 1960‑2000 International Theater Festival in Holding a degree in psychology
(2008) at the Museo del Barrio Moscow, Russia. In subsequent and a Masters degree in behav-
in New York, US; and No Fon No years the group solidified the ioural research and theory from
Fax No Mail, Komm! (2008) at the collaborative process as its mode the Federal University of Pará,
Goethe‑Institut in Lisbon, Portugal. of creation, always seeking Thiago Martins de Melo has
to occupy non-conventional dedicated himself to the visual arts,
spaces – a hospital, a prison or the specifically, painting. His recent
Sheela Gowda polluted riverbed of São Paulo’s solo exhibitions include Teatro
Rio Tietê. During the spectacle nagô‑cartesiano e o corte azimutal
1957, Bhadravati, India. Lives in
Bom Retiro 958 metros (2012), the do mundo (2013) at Mendes Wood
Bangalore, India.
group occupied several streets of DM in São Paulo, Brazil. He has
Sheela Gowda uses a variety of the São Paulo neighbourhood of participated in several group
media and material in her work, Bom Retiro. Teatro da Vertigem shows such as Imagine Brazil
in general installations, which won the gold medal for the best (2013) at Astrup Fearnley Museet
initially suggest a concern with production at the 12th Prague in Oslo, Norway; Entre‑temps...
abstraction and, upon closer Quadrennial (2011) for the show Brusquement, et ensuite (2013)
examination, reveal a continuous BR‑3. In 2014 the group staged the at the 12th Biennale de Lyon in
commitment to politics, the show Dire ce qu’on ne pense pas France; To Be with Art Is All We Ask
environment and society. She has dans des langues qu’on ne parle (2013) at Astrup Fearnley Museet
had solo exhibitions at the Van pas for the project Villes en Scène in Oslo, Norway; Zona tórrida:
Abbemuseum (2013) in Eindhoven, at the Théâtre National in Brussels, certa pintura do Nordeste (2012) at
the Netherlands; Lund Kunsthalle Belgium and the Festival d’Avignon Santander Cultural in Recife, Brazil;
(2013) in Sweden; the Centre in France. and Convite à viagem – Rumos
International d’Art et du Paysage Artes Visuais (2011‑2013) at Itaú
(2014) in Île de Vassivière, France; Cultural in São Paulo, Brazil.
150
Tiago Borges UEINZZ, Cia cannot be separated from aesthetic
experimentation. He also formu-
1973, Luanda, Angola. He lives and Teatral lated the term ‘plat’ to designate a
works in Lisbon, Portugal. form of pictorial-luminary-audio-
1997, São Paulo, Brazil.
tactile art, and developed concepts
Born during the revolution of a
The Cia Teatral UEINZZ provides such as the ‘panoramic overflowing
country’s fight for independence,
a performance space for those of the image’ that goes beyond
Tiago Borges grew up in a context
who feel the world spinning. It the limits of the canvas, ‘diaphonic
of war, kidnapping, dystopia,
creates material for poetic and sound’ and ‘tactile vision’. His
adventure and hardship. His work
political transmutation out of exhibitions include Val del Omar:
involves the creation of web pages,
land-sickness. The collective Overflow (2010) at the Museo
diagrams, installations, machines,
includes masters of the art of Nacional Centro de Arte Reina
stacks of symbols and objects,
clairvoyance, with noteworthy Sofía in Madrid, Spain; and The
toys, low-fi systems, slogans and
knowledge of improvisation and Discreet Charm of Technology:
formulas, stencils and graffiti and
neologisms; specialists in maritime Arts in Spain (2008) at the Museo
editorial and video projects. His
encyclopaedias, frustrated trapeze Extremeño e Iberoamericano de
exhibitions include Arte In’Visible
artists, dream hunters, interpreta- Arte Contemporáneo in Badajoz,
(2010) at Arco, Madrid, Spain;
tive actresses, as well as inventors Spain.
Lusophonia (2008) at Hangar in
of the ‘pigeon-slang’, incognito
Barcelona, Spain; 5th São Tomé e
musicians, master brewers and
Príncipe Biennial (2008), São Tomé;
and Réplica e Rebeldia (2006),
new-born beings. Lives on the Virginia
Instituto Camões, Lisbon, Portugal.
edge experimenting with aesthetic
practices and trans-Atlantic
de Medeiros
He participated in the 1st Luanda
collaborations. A community for 1973, Feira de Santana, Brazil. Lives
Triennial (2005) in Angola, at the
those with no community, for a and works in São Paulo, Brazil.
artist-in-residence programmes in
community to come. Its current
Lisbon, Portugal and the Canary A commitment to socially-margin-
members are Adélia Faustino,
Islands, Spain. alised groups like transsexuals and
Aílton Carvalho, Alexandre
the homeless is central to Virginia
Bernardes, Amélia Monteiro de
de Medeiros’s work. She has
Tony Chakar Melo, Ana Goldenstein Carvalhaes,
Ana Carmen del Collado, Arthur
exhibited at the 18th International
Festival of Contemporary Art
1968, Beirut, Lebanon. Lives and Amador, Eduardo Lettiere, Erika
SESC/Videobrasil (2013‑2014)
works in Beirut, Lebanon. Alvarez Inforsato, Fabrício Lima
in São Paulo, Brazil; the 32nd
Pedroni, Jaime Menezes, José
Tony Chakar is an architect, writer Panorama de Arte Brasileira (2011)
Petrônio Fantasia, Leonardo
and artist. His most recent solo at MAM in São Paulo, Brazil;
Lui Cavalcanti, Luis Guilherme
work includes the lecture/perfor- the 2nd Luanda Triennial (2010),
Ribeiro Cunha, Luiz Augusto
mance The Space of Nūn (2013); Luanda, Angola; at the artist
Collazzi Loureiro, Maria Yoshiko
The Sky Over Beirut (Walking Tours residency International Women
Nagahashi, Onés Antonio Cervelin,
of the City) (2009) at Ashkal Alwan for Peace Conference (2009) in
Paula Patricia Francisquetti, Pedro
in Beirut, Lebanon; and The Eighth Dili, East Timor; the programme
França, Peter Pál Pelbart, Rogéria
Day (2008), an ongoing project Rumos Artes Visuais (2005‑2006),
Neubauer, Simone Mina and
also in the form of a lecture/perfor- Itaú Cultural, Brazil; and the 27th
Valéria Felippe Manzalli.
mance. Some of the group shows Bienal de São Paulo (2006) also in
that have featured his work are The Brazil. In 2014 she won the ICCo/
Dialogue that Is Us (2013) at the 11th
Sharjah Biennial in the United Arab
Val del Omar Panoramas do Sul‑Videobrasil
Residence Award to develop a
Emirates; One Hundred Thousand 1904, Granada, Spain – 1982, project at Residency Unlimited
Solitudes (2012) at Meeting Points Madrid, Spain. in New York, US. In 2007, she
6, shown in Beirut, Lebanon, Berlin, participated in an artist residency
Val del Omar’s work should be
Germany and Athens, Greece; An at La Chambre Blanche in Québec,
understood from the perspective of
Endless Quick Nightmare (2011) Canada. She holds a Masters
his status as an inventor, visionary
at MED11 in Medellín, Colombia. degree in visual arts from the
and visual poet. He has defined
Chakar has also contributed to art Federal University of Bahia.
himself with the epithet ‘cinemist’,
and architecture magazines and is
a neologism which, by combining
a professor of art history and archi-
the activity of film-maker and
tectural history at the Académie
alchemist, defines his original
Libanaise des Beaux‑Arts
approach to cinema, according to
(ALBA‑UOB) in Beirut.
which technological investigation
151
Vivian Suter Walid Raad Switzerland. He has made three
films in partnership with his wife,
1949, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 1967, Chbanieh, Lebanon. Lives and Anka Sasnal: Huba (Parasite)
Lives in Panajachel, Guatemala. works in New York, US. (2013), Aleksander (2013) and It
Looks Pretty from a Distance (2011).
After travelling through North Walid Raad is an artist and
and Central America, Vivian Suter Associate Professor at The Cooper
moved to a Guatemalan village
in the early 1980s. She creates
Union’s School of Art in New
York, US. Some highlights of his
Yael Bartana
most of her work, which include body of work include The Atlas 1970, Afula, Israel. Lives and works
paintings that comment on and Group (1989‑2004), a project on in Tel Aviv, Israel, Amsterdam, the
interpret the environment in which contemporary Lebanese history Netherlands and Berlin, Germany.
she lives, at her home studio. that also resulted in the publica-
Yael Bartana’s films, installations
Among Suter’s solo exhibitions are tion of a series of books – The
and photography explores the
Vivian Suter ‘Intrépida’ Featuring Truth Will Be Known When the
imagination of the identity and the
Elisabeth Wild ‘Fantasías 2’ (2014) Last Witness Is Dead; My Neck
politics of memory. Her starting
at Kunsthalle Basel in Switzerland; Is Thinner than a Hair; Let’s Be
point is the national consciousness
Olinka, or Where Movement is Honest and The Weather Helped.
propagated by her home country,
Created (2012) at the Museo He currently has two projects in
Israel. Since 2006 the artist has
Tamayo in Mexico City, Mexico; progress, Sweet Talk: Commissions
also been working in Poland,
6 Künstler aus Basel x2 (2012) at Beirut, and Scratching on Things
creating projects on the history
Kunsthalle Basel in Switzerland; I Could Disavow. His solo exhibi-
of Jewish-Polish relations and its
and Olten: Rut Himmelsbach and tions include Preface (2014) at
influence on the contemporary
Vivian Suter Art Museum (2004) Carrée d’Art in Nîmes, France;
identity of the Polish people. Some
at the Kunstmuseum, Olten in Preface to the First Edition (2013)
of her recent exhibitions include
Switzerland. at the Musée du Louvre in Paris,
True Finn: Tosi suomalainen (2014)
France; and Miraculous Beginnings
at the IHME Contemporary Art
(2010) at Whitechapel Gallery in
Voluspa Jarpa London, UK. His work has also
Festival in Helsinki, Finland; Inferno
(2013) at the Pérez Art Museum in
been shown at dOCUMENTA (13)
1971, Rancagua, Chile. Lives and Miami, US; If You Will It, It Is Not
(2013) in Kassel, Germany, and
works in Santiago, Chile. a Dream (2012) at Secession in
the exhibition Contemporary Arab
Vienna, Austria; and And Europe
With a degree from the University Representations: Beirut/Lebanon
Will Be Stunned (2011) at the
of Chile’s School of Art, Voluspa (2001) at Fundació Antoni Tàpies in
54th Venice Biennale in Italy. Her
Jarpa has constructed a career Barcelona, Spain.
work was featured in such group
in the theoretical and conceptual
exhibitions as the 29th Bienal de
investigation of painting and
techniques of representation. The Wilhelm Sasnal São Paulo (2010) in Brazil, and
documenta 12 (2007) in Kassel,
violence latent in the official forms
1972, Tarnów, Poland. Lives and Germany. She won the Artes Mundi
of representation and reflections
works in Kraków, Poland. Prize in 2010.
on displacement and the precari-
ousness of cities are recurring Sasnal studied painting at the
themes in her artistic endeavours.
Her recent solo shows include
Kraków Academy of Fine Arts. He
has held solo shows at Haus Der
Yeguas del
Secret/Sensitive Eyes Only (2013) Kunst (2012) in Munich, Germany; Apocalipsis
at Mor‑Charpentier Galerie and Whitechapel Gallery (2011‑2012)
1987‑1997, Santiago, Chile.
L’Effet Charcot (2010) at Maison in London, UK; K21 Ständehaus
de l’Amerique Latine, both located (2009) in Düsseldorf, Germany; A collective of artists founded
in Paris, France. Her work has and Kunsthalle Zürich (2003), by Pedro Lemebel (1955) and
been shown in group exhibitions Switzerland. He has participated Francisco ‘Pancho’ Casas (1959),
such as History’s Mine (2012) in group exhibitions including the Yeguas del Apocalipsis was part
at Les Abattoires in Toulouse, 55th Carnegie International (2008) of the Santiago counterculture in
France; the 3rd and 8th Bienal do at the Carnegie Museum of Art in the context of political transition
Mercosul (2001 and 2011) in Porto Pittsburgh, US; Painting of Modern from military dictatorship under
Alegre, Brazil; and the 12th Istanbul Life (2007) at the Hayward Gallery Augusto Pinochet to the return of
Biennial (2011) in Turkey. in London, UK; and Painting on democracy. Throughout its artistic
the Move: Nach der Wirklichkeit trajectory, the group experimented
– Realismus und aktuelle Malerei with artistic actions, performances,
(2002) at Kunsthalle Basel in installations, photography,
152
videos and interventions in an
interdisciplinary manner. One
Yonamine programme Arte In Loco (2009) in
Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Bolsa
of the collective’s pieces, Casa 1975, Luanda, Angola. Lives and Pampulha (2008) in Belo Horizonte,
particular (1989), documented the works in Luanda, Angola and Brazil. He was nominated for the
staging of the Last Supper with Lisbon, Portugal. Marcantonio Vilaça Prize in 2009.
artist Gloria Camiruaga. The video
In recent years, Yonamine
was removed from an exhibition
has participated in different The participants listed below
at the Museo Nacional de Bellas
artist‑in‑residence programmes took part in the Programa de
Artes in Santiago after it was
at the Bundanon Trust (2012) in Residências Artísticas at FAAP
shown in 1990. The same year, the
Nowra, Australia; Galeria ZDB – Fundação Armando Álvares
group presented the performance/
(2007) in Lisbon, Portugal; the Penteado:
installation Las dos fridas [The
1st Luanda Triennial (2006‑2007)
Two Fridas] (1990), based on Frida Anna Boguighian
in Angola and MuzArt – the
Kahlo’s painting of the same name, Arthur Scovino
National Museum of Art (2008)
at Galería Bucci, also in Santiago. Bik Van der Pol
in Maputo, Mozambique. Solo
Danica Dakić
exhibitions include: No Pain
El Hadji Sy
Yochai Avrahami (2012) at Salzburger Kunstverein
in Salzburg, Austria and Trash
Erick Beltrán
Etcétera…
1970, Afula, Israel. Lives and works Anthology – Anthology Trash (2011)
Ines Doujak and John Barker
in Tel Aviv, Israel. at Iwalewa‑Haus in Bayreuth,
Germany. Group shows include
Yochai Avrahami’s work includes Nilbar Gureş
No Fly Zone (2012) at the Museu
sculptures, videos and installations. Pedro G. Romero
Berardo in Lisbon, Portugal;
In recent years he has researched Prabhakar Pachpute
Terceira Metade (2011) at MAM
the exhibition and presentation ruangrupa
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; the 29th
of images in military museums, Sheela Gowda
Bienal de São Paulo (2010) in Brazil;
memorials of atrocities and visitor
Luanda, Suave e Frenética 2 (2010)
centres. He has held exhibitions
at MAM in Bahia, Brazil; and Check
in a variety of places, including
List Luanda Pop (2007) at the 52nd
the Artists Studio’s Gallery (2013)
Venice Biennale (2007) in Italy.
in Tel Aviv, Israel; the Museum of
Modern Art (2010) in Gyeonggi,
South Korea; the Center for
Contemporary Art (2008) in Tel
Yuri Firmeza
Aviv, Israel; the ACC Gallery 1982, São Paulo, Brazil. Lives and
(2008) in Weimar, Germany; and works in Fortaleza, Brazil.
the Herzliya Museum (2004) in
Yuri Firmeza holds a Masters
Herzliya, Israel. He has participated
degree in visual poetics from
in group exhibitions at the 6th
the University of São Paulo’s
Taipei Biennial (2008) in Taiwan;
School of Communications and
the 9th Istanbul Biennial (2005) in
Arts, and currently teaches film
Turkey; and the Tel Aviv Museum
and the audiovisual courses at
(2002) in Israel. He won the
the Federal University of Ceará.
Akademie der Küste der Welt
Recent exhibitions include Through
Award in Cologne, Germany,
the Surface of the Pages (2012),
in 2014; the Israeli Ministry of
Harvard University, Cambridge,
Culture Award in 2011 and the
US; O que exatamente vocês
Israeli National Lottery Award for
fazem, quando fazem ou esperam
the Arts in 2004. He has recently
fazer curadoria? (2010) with Pablo
been lecturing at the Art Institute
Lobato at CCBNB in Fortaleza,
of Oranim Academic College in
Brasil; and Os dez primeiros anos
northern Israel and the Bezalel
(2011‑2012) at Instituto Tomie
Academy of Fine Art in Jerusalem.
Ohtake in São Paulo, Brazil. He
also participated in the programme
Rumos Artes Visuais (2006),
Itaú Cultural, São Paulo, Rio de
Janeiro, Goiás and Santa Catarina,
Brazil; the artist‑in‑residence
153
Bienal de São Paulo Members
Foundation Alberto Emmanuel Whitaker
Alfredo Egydio Setubal
Aluizio Rebello de Araujo
Founder Antonio Bias Bueno Guillon
Antonio Bonchristiano
Francisco Matarazzo Sobrinho † 1898–1977
Antonio Henrique Cunha Bueno
Chairman Emeritus
Beatriz Pimenta Camargo
Beno Suchodolski
Honorary Board Cacilda Teixeira da Costa
Carlos Alberto Frederico
Oscar P. Landmann † · Chairman
Carlos Jereissati Filho
Cesar Giobbi
Honorary Board of former Presidents Claudio Thomas Lobo Sonder
Danilo Santos de Miranda
Alex Periscinoto
Decio Tozzi
Carlos Bratke
Eduardo Saron
Celso Neves †
Elizabeth Machado
Edemar Cid Ferreira
Emanoel Alves de Araújo
Heitor Martins
Evelyn Ioschpe
Jorge Eduardo Stockler
Fábio Magalhães
Jorge Wilheim †
Fernando Greiber
Julio Landmann
Fersen Lamas Lembranho
Luiz Diederichsen Villares
Geyze Marchesi Diniz
Luiz Fernando Rodrigues Alves †
Heitor Martins
Maria Rodrigues Alves †
Horácio Lafer Piva
Manoel Francisco Pires da Costa
Jackson Schneider
Oscar P. Landmann †
Jean-Marc Robert Nogueira Baptista Etlin
Roberto Muylaert
João Carlos de Figueiredo Ferraz
José Olympio da Veiga Pereira
Management Board Maria Ignez Corrêa da Costa Barbosa
Marisa Moreira Salles
Tito Enrique da Silva Neto · President
Meyer Nigri
Alfredo Egydio Setubal · Vice President
Miguel Wady Chaia
Nizan Guanaes
Lifetime Members Paulo Sérgio Coutinho Galvão
Roberto Muylaert
Adolpho Leirner
Ronaldo Cezar Coelho
Alex Periscinoto
Sérgio Spinelli Silva Jr.
Álvaro Augusto Vidigal
Susana Leirner Steinbruch
Carlos Bratke
Tito Enrique da Silva Neto
Carlos Francisco Bandeira Lins
Tufi Duek
Gilberto Chateaubriand
Hélène Matarazzo
Jens Olesen Audit Board
Julio Landmann
Carlos Alberto Frederico
Marcos Arbaitman
Gustavo Halbreich
Pedro Aranha Corrêa do Lago
Tito Enrique da Silva Neto
Pedro Franco Piva
Pedro Aranha Corrêa do Lago
Pedro Paulo de Sena Madureira
Roberto Pinto de Souza
Rubens José Mattos Cunha Lima
154
Board
Luis Terepins · President
Flavia Buarque de Almeida
João Livi
Justo Werlang
Lidia Goldenstein
Mario Cunha Campos
Rodrigo Bresser Pereira
Salo Kibrit
Advisor
Emilio Kalil
Superintendent
Rodolfo Walder Viana
General Coordinations
Projects and Production
Dora Silveira Corrêa
Education Curator
Stela Barbieri
155
31st Bienal de São Paulo Production Assistants
Adelaide D'Esposito
Fernando Hargreaves
Curatorship Fernando Ticoulat
Charles Esche · Curator Gabriela Lopes
Galit Eilat · Curator
Transport Logistics
Nuria Enguita Mayo · Curator
Luiz Santorio
Oren Sagiv · Curator
Patricia Lima
Pablo Lafuente · Curator
Benjamin Seroussi · Associate Curator Conservation
Luiza Proença · Associate Curator Graziela Carbonari
Sofia Ralston · Curatorial Assistant
Research
Advisory Board Thiago Gil
Ivo Mesquita
Volunteer Assistant
Moacir dos Anjos
Jônatas Clemente Pereira de Brito
Suely Rolnik
Artworks’ Audio-visual
Maxi Áudio Luz Imagem
Architecture
Set Construction
Oren Sagiv · Chief Architect
Fresh Design
Anna Helena Villela · Coordinator
Roi Zach · Architect Light Design Project
Izabel Barboni Rosa · Assistant to Coordination Design da Luz Estúdio, Fernanda Carvalho
Architecture Team
Beatriz Vicino Communication
João Yamamoto
Communication Coordination
Karina Kouhtek
Felipe Taboada · Coordinator
Liz Arakaki
Julia Bolliger Murari · Communication Assistant
Maria Julia Herklotz
Gabriela Longman · International Press Relations
Stav Dror
Yifat Zailer Design Coordination
Ana Elisa de Carvalho Price · Coordinator
Felipe Kaizer · Graphic Designer
Programme in Time Adriano Campos · Design Assistant
Agência Popular de Cultura Solano Trindade Douglas Higa · Design Assistant
Carlos Gutierrez · Adviser Trans– (religion and body) Meire Assami · Design Assistant
Comboio e Movimento Moinho Vivo
Editorial Coordination
COMO Clube · Adviser Trans (religion and gender)
Cristina Fino · Coordinator
Digital Art Lab / Nova Jerusalém · Adviser Trans– (religion
Diana Dobránszky · Editor
and body)
Maria Lutterbach · Assistant Editor
Raquel Rolnik · Adviser Rights to the City
Stephen Wright · Adviser Uses of Art Internet and New Technologies Coordination
Zeyno Penkulu · Adviser Rights to the City Victor Bergmann · Coordinator
Support to General Coordination
Projects and Production Eduardo Lirani · Controller and Graphic Producer
Production Managers Audio-visual Documentation Management
Felipe Isola Pedro Ivo Trasferetti von Ah
Joaquim Millan
Press Office
Senior Producers Pool de Comunicação
Helena Ramos
External International Press Relations
Waleria Dias
Rhiannon Pickles PR
Junior Producers
Audio Guide
Lilian Bado
Estúdio Zut
Veridiana Simons
Vivian Bernfeld Website Development
Viviane Teixeira Agência Pic
156
Mobile Application Development Production
Estúdio Existo Ana Luisa Nossar · Coordinator
Dayves Vegini · Coordination Assistant
Graphic Production Lila Schnaider · Producer
Signorini Produção Gráfica Uirá França · Producer
André Bitinas · Assistant
Educativo Bienal Pedro Nascimento · Assistant
Diogo Terra Vargas · Intern
General Coordination
Daniela Azevedo Projects and Partnerships
Pablo Tallavera · Actions in Communities Coordinator
General Supervision Felipe Tenório · Actions in Communities Assistant
Carolina Melo · Internal Relations and Training Anita Limulja · Teacher for the Bienal at the Schools Project
Celso Rabetti · Production and Administration Débora Rosa · Teacher for the Bienal at the Schools Project
Helena Kavaliunas · External Relations and Communication Bianca Casemiro · Producer
Laura Barboza · Education and Content Cecília Bracale · Producer
Guga Queiroga · Assistant to Supervision Mayra Koketsu · Producer
Administration External Relations
Simone Martins · Assistant Ana Lua Contatore · Assistant
Evaluation of Actions Maíra Martinez · Assistant
Rosana Martins · Coordinator Volunteers
Luan Inarra · Intern Rosa Maria Maia Antunes · Coordinator
Communication Vera Cerqueira
Jhony Arai · Coordinator Natália Galindo Chiarelli
Felipe Félix · Videomaker Content Production for Educational Material
Vivian Lobato · Journalist Helenira Paulino · Coordination
Sofia Colucci · Photographer Célia Barros
Rodrigo Lins · Photographer Leonardo Matsuhei
Sattva Horaci · Intern Photographer Matias Monteiro
Content Regiane Ishii
Elaine Fontana · Coordinator Workshop for the development of Educational Material
Célia Barros · Content Researcher and Lecturer Ana Carolina Druwe
Leonardo Matsuhei · Content Researcher and Lecturer Ana Helena Grimaldi
Paula Nogueira Ramos · Content Researcher and Lecturer Ana Letícia Penedo
Regiane Ishii · Content Researcher and Lecturer Bruno Garibaldi
Educators’ Training Carlos Alberto Negrini
Elaine Fontana · Coordinator Carlos Eduardo Gomes Silva
Marina Pecci Jimenez · Assistant Carlos Eduardo Gonçalves da Silva
Carlos Eduardo Poma Valadão
Supervisors Carolina Melo
Ana Gabriela Leirias Célia Barros
Ana Helena Garcia Santana Clara Alves
Carlos Eduardo Poma Valadão Débora Rosa
Carolina Albuquerque Gonçalves Divina Datovo Prado
Elena Robles Garcia Elaine Fontana
Julia Jenior Lotufo Eri Alves
Leonardo Araújo Beserra Fábio Gomes
Marcus Vinicius Silva dos Santos Fábio Caiana
Maria Lívia Nobre de Góes Fátima Regina Vilas Bôas
Pedro Augusto Andrada Felipe Tenório
Raíza Ribeiro Cavalcanti Helena Kavaliunas
Sidiney Peterson Ferreira de Lima Helenira Paulino
Viviane Tabach Jhony Arai
Wilson Tonon Lazarim Juliana Rodrigues Barros
Lara Teixeira da Silva
Lívia Cristina dos Anjos Nascimento
Luiza Proença
157
Lucas Itacarambi Marketing & Fundraising
Lúcia Abreu Machado
Marta Delpoio · Coordinator
Luciano Fávaro
Gláucia Ribeiro · Analyst
Marcel Cabral Couto
Raquel Silva · Assistant
Marco Biglia
Maria Elisabeth Vespoli
Maria Filippa Jorge Human Resources & Maintenance
Marisa Pires Duarte
Mário Rodrigues · Manager
Marlene Hirata
Albert Cabral dos Santos · Human Resources Assistant
Nuria Enguita Mayo
Danilo Alexandre Machado de Souza · Human
Oiram Bichaff
Resources Assistant
Pablo Lafuente
Manoel Lindolfo C. Batista · Consultant Engineer
Pedro Garbellini da Silva
Wagner Pereira de Andrade · Caretaker
Pio Santana
Regiane Ishii Reception
Rosana Martins Fabiana Salgado
Roseli Alves José Cicero Quelis da Silva
Sattva Horaci Nilsandro Batista
Stela Barbieri Marcelo dos Santos
Sofia Ralston Pedro Luiz Januário
Talita Paes Rogério de Jesus Rodrigues
Vivian Lobato
Fire Brigade
Viviane Tabach
André Fernando Ferreira Pacifico
Artur Medeiros
Bienal Archive Leandro Silva Meira Corelli
Ricardo de Azevedo Santos
Ana Luiza de Oliveira Mattos · Coordinator
Ana Paula Andrade Marques · Researcher Maintenance
Fernanda Curi · Researcher Alexandro Pedreira da Silva
Giselle Rocha · Conservation Cléber Silva de Souza
Melânie Vargas de Araujo · Archivist Paulo Vitor Silva Oliveira
Library Project Vanderlan da Silva Bispo
Maria do Socorro Ferreira de Araújo · Librarian
Janitors
Marcele Souto Yakabi · Archivist
Isabel Rodrigues Ferreira
Milton dos Santos · Assistant
Mércia Ferreira da Silva
Inventory Project
Rodrigo Costa de Assunção
Silvana Goulart França Guimarães · Coordinator
Vanilde Herculano da Silva
Ana Maria de Almeida Camargo · Consultant
Sebastiana Cordeiro da Silva · Senior Archivist
Gustavo Aquino dos Reis · Junior Archivist Institutional Relations
Matheus Pastrello da Silva · Intern
Flávia Abbud · Coordinator
Gabriela Brancaglion Alfonso · Intern
Marina Dias Teixeira · Assistant
Thaís Vital Pelligrinelli · Intern
Guilherme Rodrigues Ribeiro da Silva · Intern
General Secretariat
Legal Counselling Maria Rita Marinho · Manager
Angélica de Oliveira Divino · Administrative Assistant
Marcello Ferreira Netto
Carlos Roberto Rodrigues Rosa · Courier
Josefa Gomes · Catering Assistant
Financial Management
Vagner Carvalho · Manager Information Technology
Amarildo Firmino Gomes · Accountant
Leandro Takegami · Coordinator
Fábio Kato · Financial Clerk
Jefferson Pedro · Assistant
Lisânia Praxedes dos Santos · Assistant
Thatiane Pinheiro Ribeiro · Financial Assistant
Valdemiro Rodrigues da Silva · Supplies Coordinator
Vinícius Robson da Silva Araújo · Supplies Clerk
158
Dados Internacionais de Catalogação na Publicação
Publication (CIP)
General Concept
Benjamin Seroussi [Catalogue 31st Bienal de São Paulo – How (…) things that don't
Charles Esche exist] / Organizado por Nuria Enguita Mayo e Erick Beltrán.
Galit Eilat -- São Paulo : Fundação Bienal de São Paulo, 2014.
Luiza Proença
Curated by: Charles Esche, Galit Eilat, Nuria Enguita Mayo, Oren
Nuria Enguita Mayo
Sagiv, Pablo Lafuente, Benjamin Seroussi, Luiza Proença.
Oren Sagiv
Pablo Lafuente ISBN: 978-85-85298-49-4
Edited by 1. Arte - Exposições – Catálogo. I. Mayo, Nuria Enguita. II. Beltrán,

Nuria Enguita Mayo Erick. I. Esche, Charles. II. Eilat, Galit. III. Sagiv, Oren. IV.
Erick Beltrán Lafuente, Pablo. V. Seroussi, Benjamin. VI. Proença, Luiza. VI.
Título
Graphic Design
Erick Beltrán CDD-700.74
Editorial Coordination
Editorial Bienal Índice para catálogo sistemático:
Desktop Publishing 1. Arte : Exposições : Catálogo 700.74

Design Bienal
Translation
Cid Knipel (English, French, Spanish/Portuguese)
Danielle Zilberberg (Hebrew/English)
Dean Inkster (French/English)
© Fundação Bienal de São Paulo
Gênese Andrade (Spanish/Portuguese)
All rights reserved.
Jeffery Hessney (Portuguese/English)
Lambe&Nieto (Spanish/English)
Images and texts reproduced in this publication
Matthew Rinaldi (Portuguese/English)
were granted by permission from the artists,
Tobi Maier (Portuguese/English)
photographers, writers or their legal representatives,
Vadim Nikitin (Russian/Portuguese)
and are protected by law and licence agreements.
Ziv Neeman (Hebrew/English)
No part of this publication may be reproduced without
Copyediting and Proofreading prior stated permission from the artist, photographer
Clare Butcher (English) and writer.
Bruno Tenan (Portuguese) All efforts were made to find the copyright owners.
Jeffery Hessney (English) We will be happy to correct any omission in future
Anthony Doyle (English) editions in case it comes to our knowledge.
Images Management
Pedro Ivo Trasferetti von Ah
www.bienal.org.br
Graphic Production www.31bienal.org.br
Signorini Produção Gráfica
This book was published on the occasion of the 31st
Prepress and Printing
Bienal de São Paulo – How to (…) things that don't
Ipsis
exist, held from 6 September through 7 December
2014 at the Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion, Ibirapuera
Park.
159
Acknowledgments
Institutions:
ABACT, Academy of the Arts of the World, Cologne, Acervo África, Acervo do Laje, Afterall,
Arquivo da Câmara dos Deputados, Arquivo Público do Estado de São Paulo, Arquivo Público do
Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Arte Tubos, Associação Cultural Kinoforum, Associação Reciclázaro,
Ateliê Aberto, Barcelona Filmes, Biblioteca Terra Livre, Brilia, Canada Council for the Arts, Casa
da Imagem, Casa da Lapa, Casa de Cultura Tainã, Casa do Migrante, Casa do Povo, Central Saint
Martins, Centro Cultural São João, Centro Cultural São Paulo – CCSP, Centro de Convivência e
Cooperativa (CECCO) Ibirapuera, Centro de Convivência Educativo e Cultural de Heliópolis, Centro
de Formação Cultural Cidade Tiradentes, Choque Cultural, Cia Ballet de Cegos, Cine Marabá,
Cinecidade Locações, Clube de Mães, Colégio de Santa Inês, Coletivo BaixoCentro, Coletivo Feito
a Mão, Coletivo Katu, Coletivo Ocupe a Cidade, Condomínio Copan, Consulado Geral do México
em São Paulo, Coordenação de Documentação Diplomática do Ministério das Relações Exteriores,
Daniel Faria Gallery, Danish Arts Foundation, Edifício Martinelli, EE Professor Augusto Baillot, EE
Professor Ceciliano José Ennes, El Galpón Espacio, Embaixada da República da Polônia em Brasília,
EMEF Deputado Rogê Ferreira, EMEF General Osório, EMEF Presidente Campos Salles, Escola de
Samba Sociedade Rosas de Ouro, Escola de Samba Unidos de Vila Maria, Espaço Fonte, ETEC de
Artes, FDE – Fundação para o Desenvolvimento da Educação, Foksal Gallery Foundation, Fundação
Julita, Fundação Theatro Municipal de São Paulo, Fundación Augusto y León Ferrari Arte y Acervo
(FALFAA), Galeria Athena Contemporânea, Galeria do Rock, Galeria Isabel Aninat, Goethe-Institut São
Paulo, Grupo Cangarassu, Guardian Vidros do Brasil, Hebraica São Paulo, Ilú Obá De Min, Instituto
Brincante, Instituto de Artes do Pará, Instituto João Goulart, Instituto Nova União da Arte, Justina
M. Barnicke Gallery, Kunsthalle Basel, Largo das Artes, Lightbox, Marcha das Vadias, Mendes Wood
DM, Metro Jornal, Mifal Hapais, Museo de Arte de Lima (MALI), Museu Afro Brasil, Museu de Arte de
São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand (MASP), Museu Mineiro, Museu Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
(MNCARS), Museum Jorn, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), National Film Board of Canada, Núcleo
de Artes Afrobrasileiras da USP, Núcleo Educativo Bolha de Sabão, Ocupação Cine Marrocos, Pará
Movimento, Pilot Gallery, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, Playarte Pictures, Poiesis – Oficinas
Culturais, Prefeitura de São Paulo, Projeto Âncora, Projeto Arrastão, Projeto Latitude, Quiddity
Films, Rabinovich Foundation, Rampa Istanbul, RT Features, Santander Cultural, Sarau da Cooperifa,
Secretaria Municipal da Educação, SISEM – Sistema Estadual de Museus de São Paulo, Soda Film
+ Art, SP Urbanismo, Subprefeitura da Sé, SuperLimão Studio, Terra de Santa Cruz, The Danish
Arts Foundation, The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Top 35 Locação de Equipamentos
Cinematográficos, Tropical Filmes, UNIFOR, Via Quatro, Videobrasil, Voodoohop, Whitechapel Gallery
People:
Adam Szymcyzk, Adriana Leal, Adston Mantovani Junior, Afonso Luz, Agustín Pérez Rubio, Aizpea
Goenaga Mendiola, Al Clark, Albert Benlloch, Alberto Whitaker, Alejandra Hernández Muños,
Alejandra Muñoz, Aleksander Gowin, Alessandro Correia Marques, Alexandre Flak, Alexandre
Henrique da Silva, Alfonso Celso, Alissandro Doerzbacher, Alper Demirbas, Amilcar Packer, Amit
Meker, Ana Carolina Druwe, Ana Dupas, Ana Helena Grimaldi, Ana Letícia Penedo, Ana Pato, Ana
Paula Cohen, André Ferraz, André Mesquita, Angélica Viana da Hora, Anibal Jozami, Anita Lee,
Anna Ferrari, Anthony Corwin, Antonio Carlos Figueira de Mello, Antonio de Souza Neto, Arnaldo
de Almeida Santos, Audrey Regina Ponce, Aurora Maria Sgambatti Freitas, Barbara Fischer, Barbara
Thumm, Barry Rosen, Bart Baere, Bartomeu Marí, Bel Falleiros, Bernardo de Souza, Bernardo Nunes
Nielsen, Berta Sureda, Bia Saldanha, Brunna Macedo de Medeiros, Bruno Garibaldi, Bruno Possatti,
Carla Caffé, Carla Tavarez, Carlos Alberto Negrini, Carlos Eduardo Gomes da Silva, Carlos Eduardo
160
Gonçalves, Carlos Eduardo Valadão, Carlos Urroz, Carolina Eymann, Cássia Aparecida Frai Alves,
Celso Curi, Celso Donizeti Brito, Christele Gautschoux, Christian Duarte, Cicero Teles da Silva,
Clara Alves, Cleide Lourenço Inácio Pereira, Clémentine Deliss, Cleuza Silveira, Craig Burnett,
Cristiana Tejo, Cristina Aparecida Reis Figueira, Cristina Flak, Daina Leyton, Daniel Faria, Daniel
Ruaix Duran, Daniel Sabóia, Daniela Castro, Daniela Gutfreund, Daniel Lie, Darlan Alves, Davide
Quadrio, Davidson Panis Kaseker, Débora Rosa da Silva, Defne Ayas, Demétrio Portugal, Denise
Milfont, Dercy Aparecido Pereira, Desiderio Navarro, Diana Wescher, Diogo Rocha Ferreira, Dorota
Kwinta, Douglas Freitas, Eduardo Jesus, Edward Fletcher, Elcio Fonseca, Elena Aparicio, Elena
Hill, Eliana Maria Lorieri, Elizabeth de Toledo e Silva, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Elvira Marco, Emerson
Rossini, Emily Morgan, Eri Alves, Esra Sarigedik, Ester Pegueroles, Eve Gabereau, Fabio Cypriano,
Fábio Gomes, Fábio Moreira Caiana, Fabíola Caetano, Fátima Regina Vilas Bôas, Felipe Luz, Felipe
Tenório da Silva, Felix Esche, Fernando Abdalla, Fernando de Oliveira Silva, Fernando José Mendonça
de Araujo, Fernando Oliva, Flavia Giacomini, Frances Harvey, Francesca Colussi, Francisco Cruz,
François‑Ghisláin Morillion, Frederico Costa Vergueiro, Gabriela Vanzetta, Gaëtane Verna, Gerry
Flahive, Gisneide Tavares da Silva, Guilherme Wisnik, Gustavo Mussi Canovas, Gustavo Tranquilin
Henrique, Heitor Martins, Helena Rabethge, Helmut Batista, Hendrik Folkerts, Hudinilson e Maria
Aparecida Urbano, Iara Rolnik Xavier, Iara Teixeira da Silva, Icaro Vilaça, Iridam Cordeiro Rocha, Irmã
Nilza, Isabel Martínez Abascal, Jairo Degenszajn, Jade Kouri Marcos, Janaina Dalri, Jane Warrilow,
Jânio de Oliveira, Jaqueline Martins, Jean-Claude Bernardet, Jesús Carrillo, Joanna Kiliszek, Joël
Girard, John van de Velde, José Amálio Pinheiro, Jose Eduardo Ferreira Santos (Dinho), José Macedo
de Medeiros, José Roca, Jossua Aquarone, Joyce Almeida dos Santos, Júlia Ferreira, Julia Rebouças,
Juliana Pozzi, Juliana Rodrigues Barros, Julie Trickett, Julieta Zamorano, Julio C. Perez N., Júlio
Martins, Katharina von Ruckteschell-Katte, Kathrin Kur, Laerte Coutinho, Lala Rebaza, Lamartiny
Silveira Gomes, Laura Sobral, Laura Vallés, Laurence Rassel, Laymert Garcia dos Santos, Lia Mara
Piccolo, Lia Rodrigues, Ligia Nobre, Lilian da Silva Lima, Lisa Um, Lisette Lagnado, Lívia Cristina dos
Anjos Nascimento, Lourenço Sant' Anna, Lua Gimenes, Lucas Gioja, Lucas Itacarambi, Lucas Oliveira,
Lucas Satti, Lucia Abreu Machado, Lucia Barnea, Luciane Ramos, Luciano Fávaro, Lucilene Aparecida
Esperante, Ludovic Careme, Luis Enguita, Luis Romero, Luiz Coradazzi, Luiz Fernando de Almeida,
Luiz Fernando Mizukami, Lula Gouveia, Magdalena Ziolkowska, Maila dos Anjos Accula, Manuel
Borja-Villel, Mara Sartore, Marcel Cabral Couto, Marcelo Rezende, Marcelo Walter Durst, Marcio
Harum, Marco A. Biglia Junior, Marcone Vinicius Moraes de Souza, Marcos Moraes, Maria Adelaide
Pontes, Maria da Glória do Espírito Santo de Araújo, Maria Elisabeth Vespoli, Maria Filippa C. Jorge,
Maria Helena Chenque, Mariana Cobra, Mariana Lorenzi, Maribel López, Marília de Santis, Marilys
Downey, Mario Ramiro, Mario Sergio Ribeiro, Marisa Pires Duarte, Marlene Hirata Uchima, Marlise
Ilhesca, Marta Kuzma, Marta Rincón, Matheus Cury, Matias Barboza Pinto, Mauricio Gasperini,
Max Jorge Hinderer Cruz, Michel Gaboury, Miguel A. López, Miguel Albero, Milton Fucci Junior,
Mirela Fernanda Maia Milanez Valverde, Mirian Ribeiro dos Santos, Natalia Majluf, Nayara Datovo
Prado, Nazario Luque Vera, Norton Ficarelli, Oiram Bichaff, Orlando Maneschy, Osman Eralp, Otto
Berchem, Pablo León de la Barra, Patricia Almeida, Paul Dubok, Paula Chiaverini, Paulina Krasinska,
Paulo Herkenhoff, Paulo Rodrigues, Pedro Barbosa, Pedro Garbellini da Silva, Pedro Montes Lira, Pep
Benlloch, Pere Pedrals, Pio Santana, Rachel Cook, Rachel Robey, Rafael Barber, Raimond Chaves,
Raquel Rolnik, Renata Toledo Geo, Rentao Sivieri, Ricardo Resende, Roberto Winter, Rodrigo Nunes,
Rodrigo Oliveira, Rodrigo Teixeira, Ronaldo Antônio dos Santos, Rosario Peiró, Roseli Alves, Roseli
Garcia, Sandra Rodrigues Paula, Solange Farkas, Sonia Ferrari Rodovalho, Sophia Alckmin, Sr. Cabral,
Stephanie Smith, Talita Paes, Tania Bruguera, Tatiana Guerrero, Teresa Lizaranzu, Teresa Østegaard
Pedersen, Thais Romão, Toco Alves, Tom Freitas, Tunga, Vasif Kortun, Vera Lúcia Dias da Silva
Crisafulli, Vicente Todolí, Vitor Cesar, Waltemir Belli Nalles, Yolanda Wood, Zdenka Badovinac and to
the people from Agência Solano Trindade for the crossing out of ‘don’t’ on the cover.
161
Co-realisation
Education Sponsorship
Ramp Sponsorship
Sponsorship
163
Support
Media Support Communication
Cultural Partnership
Project made possible with the support of ProAC
164
International Support
Realisation
165
Yonamine, neoblanc, 2014
Qiu Zhijie, The Map of the Park, 2012
Of Other Worlds That
Are in This One
On my travels, I take pictures with my mobile phone, as
we all do. I try to concentrate on places and buildings in
my pictures, so the images are usually devoid of people,
or so I thought. As soon as I plugged my phone into my
computer, it automatically launched an application (iPhoto)
that makes it easy to download and share these images on
‘social media’. The application also has a facial-recognition
software that allows you to tag people. When I was asked
to tag the faces in my pictures, I was a bit surprised and
curious to see what the application ‘meant’.
And there they were: dozens of people who have
made it into my pictures, in spite of my precautions and
my will to take images of empty cityscapes. People I have
never met, people I will never meet or see again, absolute
strangers caught by the camera went about their daily lives,
completely unaware of the lens that will hold them captive
forever in a strange digital universe. Seeing them, watching
their features, produced a deep feeling of alienation that
took over me and that I couldn’t shake off. What aggravated
this feeling was that sometimes the application will ‘miss’
someone – this happened quite often actually: two people
were walking side by side and I was asked to tag this one
but not that one. Sometimes the facial recognition software
would ‘mis-recognise’ a face, and I was asked to tag objects
or strange parts of objects that the algorithms decided that
they are faces of people, such as part of a car or a section
of a façade with two windows. Or sometimes just ordinary- one’s face. ‘Everything is face [visage] in a world of vision’,
looking sections of a picture that are construed to be some- as Jean-François Lyotard pointed out.¹
These facial-recognition algorithms are practically
everywhere these days (in search engines for instance,
or in more specialised security applications). As for the
shortcomings I described above, one can very easily
dismiss them as being caused by imperfections in the
current software versions that we work with, and that in
the future these bugs will be fixed, and we would have a
perfect algorithm that can recognise a face, any face of
anyone, anywhere and in any context. That might be true
– however, and even though I am not a technical expert,
I am certain that these ‘bugs’ are caused by the nature
of the software itself, which means that it will probably
not be possible to arrive at an algorithm that works sea-
mlessly; I am certain that whenever we try to ‘translate’
something from our physical world – the world of quality
sensory perceptions – to a hyper-technological world that
is solely based on quantity, glitches like this are bound to
happen. Glitches, abnormalities, singularities: caesuras
in technology’s hyper-rational infinite and homogeneous
Tony Chakar, Of Other Worlds That Are in This space-time continuum, caesuras that precisely indicate the
One, 2014 limits of what pretends to be limitless, and the irrationality
embedded in what is supposedly the most rational of all
human constructs. In other times, mystics who would have
sought to escape this flawed world they lived in would have
identified these moments as ‘moments of vision’, because
they would create a rupture in the fabric of our world,
168
giving an insight into the ‘other’ world – a world that is not
simply ‘beyond’ our world, but within it. ‘There is another
world, and it is in this one’, as Paul Éluard put it.
Finally, the relationship between art, concepts and
technology was never an easy one; it was never a set one
either, especially considering that the terms of any possible
equation between these three parameters keep on shifting
and changing at different speeds all the time. What is
frustrating, though, is the ease with which certain debates
about art arrive at very simple conclusions concerning its
relationship to technology: that art can survive at a very
low technological level and that advanced technology can
only propagate kitsch mass-culture. I believe that recent
events have proved how short-sighted these positions are –
one example among many would be the Kafranbel banners
and how they were propagated on ‘social media’, and the
situations they created for the users of such media.2
Tony Chakar
1 Jean-François Lyotard, Misère de la philosophie, Paris: Galilée, 2000,

p. 280.
2 For a detailed discussion of the Kafranbel banners, see my essay ‘On
Seeking Incuriously’ in this same book (pp. 80-89).
169
Los incontados: discurso de un
hombre decente
Fellow countrymen,
Before considering the legal aspects, we must first organise a deep

restructuring of the business. Anyone who knows how this works
knows that banning it increments the risks – and the higher the
risks, the higher the profits. This business earns you five hundred
percent in profit. No business is more profitable. You invest one
peso and you make five hundred.
The international community’s double standards have
allowed for the main profits to stay in First World countries and to
be shared out between their own mafias.
In this chain of transactions, it is the stockbrokers,
bankers and insurers who gamble with ‘hot money’, whilst
enjoying our precious ‘white gold’: the snow from Colombia. […]
A deep restructuring of the business. A product of the highest Yael Bartana, Inferno, 2014 [Hell]
quality that meets the requirements of a demanding consumer.
We will get rid of the foreign middle-men, commission agents,
suppliers and distributors who unjustly appropriate of what should
be our profit, and thus harm our economy. We will level out
trade balance.
We will transform the current conditions of the business
in the USA. This business requires faster, more drastic and
aggressive tactics. The suppliers and agents that work for the
greedy American mafias – the worst mafias in the world – cut our
exceptional white gold with other substances in order to maximise
their profit; thus reducing its quality, deceiving the consumer’s
and putting their lives and health at risk. By reducing the purity of
the product we sell them, they increase its price – which reaches
astronomical heights – thus abusing the consumer and shame-
lessly exploiting the growers, collectors, processors, refiners,
transporters and exporters of Colombia. […] We will control
North America’s market. We will execute an aggressive expansion
of our channels of distribution and sales in that territory, offering a
product of optimum quality, at competitive and affordable prices. A
better product, at a fair price, will represent more profit for Colom-
bia. We will fight to attain the designation of origin of our precious
white gold from the World Trade Organisation, and – why not? –
have it endorsed by the Food and Drug Administration.
It’s not a secret to anyone that the drug trade has made
some fellow countrymen very rich. […] Society has never been
able to defeat vices. The budgets and agents set aside for this
combat will never be enough. The battle against the drug trade
has been lost. […] Drug trafficking is the first globalised business
in the world, and there is no way of stopping it. Every country will
always buy and sell drugs; not even its legalisation would stop the
business. The same happened with alcohol in the United States.
Everything is negotiable and everyone negotiates.
Pablo E. Escobar, Colombian forest, 1993

(Speech found in his shirt pocket on 2 December 1993, the day of
his death.)
Mapa Teatro – Laboratorio de artistas
170
Mapa Teatro – Laboratorio de artistas, Los incontados: un tríptico, 2014 [The Uncounted: A Triptych]
171
Notes for the film The Excluded
Ippolit Nikitich Myshkin (born in 1848 and executed in 1885
by firing squad in the Shlisselburg Fortress prison). A Russian
revolutionary. A narodnik (populist). Vladimir Ilyich Lenin wrote
of him: ‘Myshkin was a revolutionary of the highest order, in the
practical sense of the word.’
The son of an army officer and a
serf handmaid, Myshkin was able to get an
education as a stenographer, and very quickly
(at age 24) became one of the best, most
respected and well-paid stenographers in
Russia.
Under the influence of the context of
Russian society at that time, he opened a print
shop, where he intended to publish edifying
literature in the hope of genuinely contribut-
ing to the education of the people. When his
young employees organised a commune at the
print shop, Myshkin, inspired by them, joined
the group and began publishing subversive
literature and pamphlets. Afterwards, the print
shop survived for just a month and was vandal-
ised by the police. All of the employees were
arrested, except for Myshkin, who managed to
flee the country.
As a political exile in Zurich, he
realised that the revolutionary movement
in Russia was stagnated, with no leader and
no clear political programme. He saw the
leader in the figure of Nikolai Gavrilovich
Chernyshevsky (author of the novel What Is
to Be Done?, first published in 1862), then im-
prisoned in a katorga (a forced labour camp)
deep in Siberia. Myshkin decided to break
Chernyshevsky out.
Myshkin came up with a plan: to
Chto Delat, The Excluded. In a moment of show up at the katorga disguised as a gendarme, presenting false
danger, 2014
documents for Chernyshevsky’s transfer to another prison; and
then to abduct the author, leading him through the endless taiga
forest all the way to the border. All alone, having shared his plan
with no one, Myshkin came to Vilyuysk after a journey that took
over six months. Unfortunately, his plan didn’t work, because
Myshkin, despite his meticulous preparations, was unable to forge
all of the necessary documents and, in addition, he arrived at the
prison by himself, with no escort. The prison’s director suspected
that there was something suspicious and sent Myshkin to Yakutsk,
accompanied by two Cossacks. Myshkin realised that he was un-
der suspicion and tried to escape, wounding one of his escorts; but
after getting lost in the taiga forest, and suffering from hunger and
exhaustion, he was captured and brought to a prison in Yakutsk.
(Legend has it that Myshkin’s plan to free Chernyshevsky actually
failed because, when he appeared before the prison director dis-
guised as a gendarme, his uniform had the aglet on the right-hand
side, rather than the left, as was customary.)
172
From Yakutsk, Myshkin was sent to St. Petersburg, where
he was one of the defendants in ‘The Trial of the 193’ populist
revolutionaries. In prison, he made a speech which was published
in the newspapers (and later in pamphlets which were distributed
clandestinely) and had a huge effect on Russian society because
it clearly explained who the revolutionaries were, for what they
were fighting, and what their objectives were. After this speech,
Myshkin was considered the leader of the populists. He was
sentenced to ten years in a forced-labour camp.
Once imprisoned, Myshkin began to concoct an escape
plan. He spent almost an entire year digging under a wall, but, on
the eve of his planned escape, he decided to examine the state of
the tunnel in the daylight and was caught by guards. They trans-
ferred him to a katorga, and on the way there
he made his second notorious speech on the
occasion of the burial of a friend, in which he
lashed out against the tsar’s bloody regime
and predicted its imminent downfall. Because
of this speech, he was sentenced to another
fifteen years in prison.
Imprisoned at the Kara katorga,
Myshkin began preparations for another
escape, and this time he succeeded. Accom-
panied by a friend, Myshkin crossed the taiga
forest to Vladivostok, where he was inter-
cepted by the police. Next, he was sent to St.
Petersburg, where he served his sentence
at the Peter and Paul Fortress, before being
transferred to the Shlisselburg Fortress – the
worst prison in Russia.
The most excruciating aspect for
inmates at Shlisselburg was the rule of
absolute silence. All prisoners were kept
locked in solitary cells, all conversation was
strictly forbidden, the guards walked through
the corridors with their boots wrapped in
padded felt. Myshkin, at the cost of his life,
decided to break the silence and wake up
the entire prison: he threw a copper bowl
at a guard’s face (and missed). Crimes of
this sort were punishable by death; after a
judicial decision made behind closed doors,
Myshkin was executed by a firing squad on
the prison patio.
Shortly before his execution, Myshkin managed to com-
municate his last wishes to his comrades. He asked that they ac-
company him to his final farewell. He dreamed that, when he was
led to his death, the entire prison would revolt and break the tortu-
ous silence with a song. But this didn’t happen. He alone sang his
song. The prison kept quiet.
***
Twelve people will participate in our movie. They are
young people who became aware of their status as outsiders in
their bourgeois surroundings and broke with the routine of their
environment. They have always wanted something more than what
a safe, comfortable and pleasant life has to offer. They realised
that they are individuals in conflict with society. Once they broke
free, they saw that the new realm in which they live is populated
173
by excluded individuals. And this struck them as wonderful. But
one fine day they realised that they no longer wanted to content
themselves with the individuality of the excluded. This seemed
like very little to them because, once they stopped thinking only
of their nature as excluded, they looked around and noticed how
unjust the world is. And they wanted to change it. Because true
individuality can’t help but yearn for grand objectives. They then
experienced their own fragility, the end of their personal and in-
dividual bodies. Could they, alone, be powerful enough to change
the world? But what if they all joined together – wouldn’t this imply
the extinction of their individuality? How
could they transform fragility into power
without ruining this fragility?
In this way, they came up with
a game: to compose a large and strong
collective body, out of their own fragile
but excluded bodies. This body, however,
should be capable of changing the world
(or at least knocking it slightly off its axis).
For this, an example was needed. Who
could possibly be this example? In the eyes
of these young people, heroes without
fear or recrimination are loathsome. They
consider them to be ideological pawns,
aimed at serving power. What they really
wanted was a hero capable of embodying
their idea of transforming fragility into
power. Then, they thought of Ippolit
Nikitich Myshkin, a great loser of the
Russian Revolution (they looked into other
revolutionary dreamers from other times
and societies, but still ended up choosing
Myshkin). All of Myshkin’s efforts fell flat,
but it was he who changed the awareness
of Russian society.
Our young people want to know
precisely which of Myshkin’s weaknesses
and failures made him a great man. Hence,
Myshkin’s mouth – it liked to talk and
persuade others. Hence, Myshkin’s heart –
it wanted to beat in unison with the hearts
of his comrades, and yet it ended up alone.
Hence, it was Myshkin’s ears – the ears
Chto Delat, The Excluded. In a moment of of an extraordinary stenographer, who, at
danger, 2014 first, registered the speech of the tsar, but who, at the end of his
life, were met only with the silence of the prison and the sounds
of his comrade Popov – his neighbour in solitary confinement
– pounding on the walls. And hence Myshkin’s biggest failure:
paying for his desire to hear a song in prison with his life. In other
words, he believed in the fact that, in the prison, there was such a
thing as a collective body. But that body was asleep. To wake it up,
Myshkin had to face death.
Does this mean that collective bodies can only begin to be
revived when someone is sacrificed? Does it mean that one of our
young people has to sacrifice him- or herself? Who has to be sac-
rificed? These are the questions that plague our heroes. Will they
find the answers? This is the subject of our new work.
Chto Delat
174
León Ferrari, Palabras Ajenas, 1967 [Words of Others]
Sergio Zevallos, Andróginos, 1998-2000 [Androgynous]
175
First Letter
Buenos Aires, 24 December 1997
John Paul II, The Vatican
On our behalf:
The end of the millennium is drawing close. The Apocalypse and the Last Judgement could possibly be
at hand. If it is true that only a few will be saved, as the Gospel warns us, the beginning of eternal Hell is
imminent for the vast majority of humanity. To avoid this situation, all we have to do is to return to the justice
which God the Father pronounced in the Genesis. If He punished Eve’s disobedience by taking away our
immortality, it is not fair that the Son returns it to us so many centuries later, and thus prolongs suffering. If one
part of the Trinity passes a sentence which ends and is terminated with death, another part cannot open another
trial, add another sentence, revive the corpse and apply an additional punishment that repeats an infinite
number of times the sentence already fulfilled by the sinner once he is dead. The justice of the Son contradicts
and violates that of the Father. The existence of Paradise does not justify that of Hell: the goodness of the few
who are saved does not give them the right to be happy in the knowledge that girlfriends or sisters or mothers
or friends as well as strangers and enemies (who Jesus ordered us to love and forgive) are suffering in the
dominions of Satan. Therefore, we ask you to return to the Pentateuch and arrange for the abolishment of the
Last Judgement and of immortality.
With kind regards,
CIHABAPAI
(Club of Impious, Heretics, Apostates, Blasphemous, Atheists, Pagans, Agnostics and Infidels, in formation,
founded by León Ferrari)
Etcétera..., Infierno financiero, 2014 [Financial Hell]
176
The Pope will travel to New York
AP
The Pope will pray for peace in the Yankee Stadium and pray for
La Nación
it again in the UN Assembly
AFP New York City is getting ready for a day of joy, the day after to-
morrow, when all the peoples of the world can follow step by step,
thanks to ‘Mundovisión’, what has never happened before in the
history of Christianity, the visit of a sovereign Pontiff to the USA.
Time Johnson and his team of closest advisors will meet again in Texas
in the open air under a hot sun.
UP The Pope’s mission will be circumscribed to ‘awakening humanity’s
moral conscience’ to the pressing need to keep war at bay
UP The ‘Pilgrim Pope’ … will remain on US soil for just 13 hours and
30 minutes
La Nación Pope Paul VI’s address to the United Nations will be broadcast live
from New York in a special programme
P. Plano The return flight to New York in first class cost $890.60 … The
documents read Gianbattista Montini, single, 68 years old. But the
flight ticket was extended to Sua Santitá Paulo VI.
UP President Johnson and Pope Paul VI, both ardent advocates of world
peace, will meet during the Pontiff’s historic visit
L’Express But what about the risks?, they asked him in Rome. The danger of
the Church getting mixed up in political battles…
AFP Peace will surely be the main theme of conversation between
President Johnson and His Holiness
León Ferrari, Palabras ajenas, 1967 [Words of Others]
Errar De Dios
I
P/12 23-07-2013 The Pope arrived in Brazil with the aura of a superstar.
TVS 22-07-2013 It is Francis’s first international tour, bringing him back to the continent where he was
born.
CNN 22-07-2013 He arrived in Rio de Janeiro this Monday to take part in the World Youth Day, on his
– Journalist first international trip as pontiff.
CNN 22-07-2013 The Alitalia plane in which he travelled landed at 15:43 local time. The Pope was
– Journalist welcomed at the airport by President Dilma Rousseff, among other political and
religious leaders.
CNN 22-07-2013 While the sun was rising on Copacabana beach this Monday, workers were putting on
the finishing touches before Francis’s arrival. An enormous stage was being built just
a few metres from the beach, with giant screens and speakers that extend for almost
two kilometres.
EX 29-04-2013 The police occupation of the Cerro Corá favela, in the elegant neighbourhood
of Cosme Velho, was the last section of the security cordon set in place by the
authorities of Rio de Janeiro to welcome Pope Francis.
P/12 23-07-2013 Indifferent to the crowd around him, Francis went among the people before meeting
the authorities. He never stopped waving at the people with the car window lowered
and he even kissed a baby in the middle of the traffic jam.
AP 13:7 … it was allowed to wage war against the saints and to conquer them. And it was
St John given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.
CNN 22-07-2013 The organisers say that the event cost around 156 million dollars.
– Pope Francis … I have neither silver nor gold, but I bring with me the most precious thing given to
me: Jesus Christ.
LHN 10-04-2014 At least thirty thousand Greeks came out during the first general strike of the
– Activist year to protest against public sector cuts, mass redundancies and the adjustment
measures introduced by the government in connivance with international creditors.
Demonstrations against austerity policies are a regular occurrence since the first ‘bail
out’ in 2010.
177
Etcétera..., Infierno financiero, 2014 [Financial Hell]
BBC 14-06-2013 Every time the price goes up, so too does the number of people excluded from the
transport system.
P/12 23-07-2013 Young people are the window through which the future enters the world.
– Pope Francis
EP 12-06-2014 Demonstrations have appeared at a moment in the economic crisis with high inflation,
– Journalist the stock exchange falling (yesterday it lost three percent) and the dollar bordering on
2.20 reais.
EDD 20-03-2014 Austerity, austerity…
– Errorist
EP 20-04-2014 … European austerity policies were a mistake.
– Tim Harford
AP 13:8 And all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been
St John written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was
slain.
LN 19-04-2014 … to the ends of the earth.
– Pope Francis
Etcétera…
178
PETITION TO POPE FRANCIS FOR THE FINAL ABOLITION OF HELL
São Paulo, Brazil,

September 2014.
The Holy See, Vatican, His Holiness Pope Francis.
In 1997, the Argentinean artist León Ferrari (1920-2013) sent a petition in the name of CIHABAPAI,1
addressed to God’s representative on earth, the Pope of the Roman Apostolic Catholic Church John Paul
II, asking him to abolish Hell – a place of endless torture and suffering to which the majority of mankind
is condemned. The Holy See in the Vatican refused to accept the petition, arguing that it was unable to
abolish Hell. The place of eternal suffering is eternal and therefore will continue to exist (or not?).
In December 2001, while financial demons ran rampant in Argentina, Ferrari wrote a second letter to John
Paul II, repeating his plea. Again, without any success. Unfortunately, Catholic sadism would not bend:
eternal torture would continue to be practised in this covert place called Hell, and also in the hidden lairs
of social unconsciousness, fuelling terror and violence.
In 2013, León Ferrari was getting ready to take his final leave from earthly life when Mario Bergoglio,
Archbishop of Buenos Aires and the artist’s friend-enemy, was elevated to Peter’s Throne under the name
of Francis. Just before taking his final breath, the great Argentinean artist asked for a glass of good red
wine and drank a toast to his friend-enemy Bergoglio. Was the miracle finally about to happen?
At the end of his first Stations of the Cross, Pope Francis declared that God did not condemn anybody,
and also spoke other words that seemed to imply that Hell, about which so much has been said, did not
exist.2
A ferocious debate was unleashed in the global mediascape – a truly infernal place – between those who
interpreted the Pope’s words as the end of eternal torment and those who argued that the words of the
Supreme Pontiff were simply metaphorical and that eternal torment could not be doubted.
We, citizens of the world, gathered in the city of São Paulo, ask Pope Francis to clarify this crucial point
and, more precisely, we pray for the final abolition of Hell, that place of barbarism, a mental source of
hate and violence.
Let us now remind ourselves of Francis of Assisi’s laetitia, when he found himself close to ‘sister death’,
and hope that all men and women of the world can be freed from facing up to death with the same spirit.
Further still, we ask Pope Francis to help us to eradicate the earthly Hell of financial capitalism and of
the war which is an everyday experience for billions of beings, indigenous people, workers, the poor,
unemployed, victims of war and clerical colonialism.
By means of this petition the undersigned request the total and definitive abolition of Hell.
Note: in the event that the negotiations between His Holiness and the Eternal Father conclude with the
impossibility of abolishing Hell, we ask them to at least allow the redemption of the soul of the artist and
his liberation from eternal damnation.
¹ CIHABAPAI (Club of Impious, Heretics, Apostates, Blasphemous, Atheists, Pagans, Agnostics and Infidels, in
formation) founded by Ferrari.
² In January 2014 a message on Hell purportedly from Pope Francis was distributed: ‘(…) The Church no longer
believes in a literal hell where people suffer. This doctrine is incompatible with the infinite love of God. God is
not a judge but a friend and a lover of humanity. God seeks not to condemn but only to embrace. Like the fable of
Adam and Eve, we see Hell as a literary device. Hell is merely a metaphor for the isolated soul, which like all souls
ultimately will be united in love with God.’ The truthfulness of these declarations is still unconfirmed, although
sources from the Vatican itself denied the message.
Etcétera…
179
Letters to the Reader (1864, 1877, 1916, 1923) is part of the ongoing art project Scratching on
Things I Could Disavow, initiated in 2007, and which responds to the recent emergence of
large new infrastructures for ‘Islamic’ contemporary and modern ‘Arab’ art in the Arab world
and elsewhere. The artworks and stories presented in this project all emerge from encounters
on this ground with individuals, institutions, economies, concepts and forms. The work is
led by the conviction that many so-called ‘Modern Arab artworks’ will lack shadows when
displayed in the new museum. In anticipation of this situation, the project is forced to engage
some of the display elements or parameters (walls, floors, paint, lights) that contribute to this
shadow-less condition.
Walid Raad
Walid Raad, Letters to the Reader (1864, 1877, 1916, 1923), 2014
180
Voluspa Jarpa, Minimal Secrets, 2011
Voluspa Jarpa has created many works based on archives declassified by the United States relating to Chile
and other Latin American countries. In all cases, she analyses what has been erased and draws attention to the
final image of the intervened document, an image that engages with the construction of visibilities and also the
poetical and political potential of the uses of the archive, casting a shadow on the present.
181
Lázaro Saavedra, Karl Marx, 1992
182
183
Johanna Calle, Image of process Johanna Calle, Nogal, 2012 [Walnut]
Clara Ianni and Débora Maria da Silva, Apelo, 2014 [Plea]
Johanna Calle, Contables, 2008

[Countables]
184
Clara Ianni and Débora Maria da Silva, Apelo, 2014 [Plea]
Speech for the film Apelo We will never forget this amputated half, this pain
that hurts like a stab to a limb that no longer exists.
They took our children, our brothers and sisters, our par- Are you going to help my hand to raise the dead?
ents, our grandparents, all of them killed on the same day, Will you help me to erect this tomb?
this long day that repeats over and over throughout the years Don’t let my cry be transformed into a mute word,
and insists on never ending. echoing throughout the landscape. Help me to make this cry
They were all killed by these hands that change interrupt the roar of the machine guns.
bodies, but are always the same ones to gun us down in the Do not forget that it was like children, brothers and
narrow streets, to wound us with the crack of the whip. sisters, parents and grandparents that they died, not like
The hands of the bounty hunter, who lives behind terrorists, not like slaves.
each uniformed man. The hands that kill by command of peo- Remember that it is our blood that waters this land
ple who have the laws, the money and the weapons on their and makes the plants grow. It is our blood that plantations
side. The people who give names to the avenues and roads drink from and which mixes the cement in each new city.
that cut through the land. And if they want to dry our tears, if they want our
But remember, it is our children who die indigent dead to become food for the ants, it is our duty not to let this
with no protection from the laws, without the satisfaction of happen. Even if they threaten us with machine guns, even if
money. It is our children who die and are not given funerals, they imprison us with their laws.
monuments or street names. We cannot be afraid. We cannot be afraid of the
How dare they still deny tombstones for ours? whip. We cannot be afraid of the bullet! They will not live by
How can they prohibit us from burying the bodies feeding off of our fear.
that pile up namelessly everywhere we look? We have to remember our own. We have to remem-
They lived – some for thirteen, fifteen, twenty, ber the dead, because this is the work of the living. And this
thirty, forty years. We carried them in our bellies. We gave work is not work that is lost.
birth to them, we gave them life and we will not forget.
Why cannot we speak the name of our children? Clara Ianni and Débora Maria da Silva
Why do they want us to forget their names?
Why do they want to rip this piece from us?
185
186
Agnieszka Piksa, Justice for Aliens, 2012
187
We are believing and dis-believing / We are in
the midst of the not yet material / or perhaps the
already determined / inhabiting a time of radical
potentiality and its collapse / In search of a new
political language / in need of this / always on
the verge / always becoming and yet…
This search begins with a series of seemingly disparate

coordinates: the early anarchist life of Victor Serge
and his bandits in 1910s Paris; Abu Jilda, Arameet
and their bandit gang involved in a rebellion against
the British in 1930s Palestine, and the artist as the
quintessential bandit in Roberto Bolaño’s novel
The Savage Detectives set in 1970s Mexico. The first
part of the story is woven by looking at the resonance Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, The Incidental
between the inspiring, bizarre and sometimes tragic Insurgents: The Part About the Bandits, 2012
stories of these diverse bandits – the outsider rebel
par excellence.
The Incidental Insurgents (2012-ongoing) is
meant as an investigation into the possibilities for the
future rather than the past. Using literary and factual
texts as starting points, a convoluted story situated in
multiple times starts to emerge. Initiated as an obses-
sive search to try to figure out how we, the artist, like
the bandits before us, find ourselves, inhabiting a mo-
ment full of radical potential and disillusionment, in a
continual search of a language for the moment.
188
Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, The Incidental Insurgents: The Part About the Bandits, 2012
189
Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, The Incidental Insurgents: The Part About the Bandits, 2012
190
The Revolution Must Be a
School of Unfettered Thought
A project by Jakob Jakobsen and María Berríos
The Revolutionary Exhibition must accuse and attack

anything that can be accused and attacked. It is a theatre
of assault.
Del Tercer Mundo [From the Third World] opened on

Halil Altındere, Wonderland, 2013 9 January 1968 at the Pabellón Cuba – a half-garden-
half-building made in the early 1960s, shortly after
the victory of the revolution. As a hybrid between an
exhibition and a mechanical theatre, Del Tercer Mundo
addressed the problems of the ‘Third World’, making
a particular emphasis on North American imperialism
and colonialism. ‘Havana Derides US in a Psychedelic
Exhibition’, read a note in The New York Times the
day after the opening – describing the show as ‘a
violent “anti-imperialist” view of the United States’.
The exhibition had specific targets: the economic and
political forces of capitalist greed and subjugation. It
clearly identified who the ‘under-developers’ were, as
well as their means. In its attack, it detourned icons
of Western popular culture; instead of a spectacle of
politics, it offered an anti-imperialist anti-spectacle.
Exhibition Del Tercer Mundo, Havana, 1968 [From the Third World]
191
Exhibition Del Tercer Mundo, Havana, 1968 [From the Third World]
192
It must crack their faces open to the mad cries of the poor. film mash-up showing Tarzan, in a back-and-forth loop,
It must teach them about silence and the truths lodged depicting the heroic white man beating up the black
there. It must kill any god anyone names except common natives.
sense. It should stagger through our universe, correcting,
insulting, preaching, spitting craziness. The Revolutionary Exhibition will change the withdrawing
rooms of the museum into places where real things can
Del Tercer Mundo – publicised through a cubical neon be said about a real world, or into smoky rooms where
sign, standing on one of its vertices in the street-side the destruction of the exploiters can be plotted. The
garden of the pavilion – had a script structured into six Revolutionary Exhibition must function like an incendiary
‘zones’. It opened with a massive cardboard cut-out of the pencil.
Creation of Adam by Michelangelo, backlit and flashing,
underneath of which a caged llama and two lions were In zone three, fluorescent lighting turned a serialised
to be seen among the tropical vegetation of the pavilion. blown-up image of a starving child into a fantasyland
This first zone provided the colonial view of the so- horror tunnel, in the middle of which irrupted the
called ‘Third World’ as barren land, unexplored natural grotesque overdevelopment of jingles on a glitzy
and naked resources to be ransacked and exploited by jukebox, alongside luminous signs and logos of
‘developed’ nations. The second zone represented the multinational consumer goods. At the end of the tunnel
imaginary and artificial world created by the colonisers the protest started, in zone four. A multiplied cut-out
to cover up their crimes: the touristic vision of the ‘Third image of a man holding a placard endlessly reiterating:
World’, the wilderness of the jungle, the beauty of the ‘The struggle will be to death’. As the next phase of the
savannah and the exotic faces of the natives. A mural- storyline, zone five presented a Metro-Goldwyn Mayer
size lightbox comic strip showed popular characters lion morphing into President Lyndon Johnson, while
(including Superman with an Esso logo on his chest) on the roof a new version of the Michaelangelo creation
conspiring to loot and keep for themselves petroleum showed Johnson giving life to himself. This spectacle of
found in ‘Third World’ territories. The zone ended in a imperialist reproduction was accompanied by a detailed
list of military, political and economic ‘aid’ organisations
such as the Alliance for Progress, liberal publications
financed by the CIA and puppet leaders of ‘liberated’
nations. In the final zone, a stop-motion film showed US
Special Forces bombing peasant shacks and guerrilla
fighters striking back to a soundtrack of bombs,
machinegun fire and drums. The grand exit of Del
Tercer Mundo comprised a huge gameshow-like display
of lightboxes making up the phrase: ‘What role are we,
the exploited of the earth, to play?’. The boxes shifted,
to reveal a serialised portrait of Che Guevara, who had
been killed in Bolivia a few months earlier.
The Revolutionary Exhibition will talk about the world,

and the preciseness with which we are able to summon the
world will be our art. Art is method.
Del Tercer Mundo was conceived by a group of young

filmmakers, designers, photographers, architects,
scriptwriters, sound engineers and electricians,
together with architectural drafters, model-makers,
carpenters and builders. 120 people are known to have
been involved in the process. Their approach was to
construct and conceive a collective work, and not just to
agglomerate their individual expertise. They worked as
a de-specialised ensemble, applying everyday knowledge

193
and the ‘language of the street’ to attack the bourgeois Del Tercer Mundo was one of the public events of the
conception of the museum as a separate, distinct space. Congreso Cultural de La Habana, an international
They used the resources of mass media, pop culture, gathering that took place in the Hotel Habana Libre
scenography and cybernetics to create a total theatre, from 4 to 12 January 1968. The congress brought
with a storyline and looped soundtrack that lasted together over a thousand cultural workers from
for around twenty minutes. The show began with a around the globe to concentrate on the problems of
thunderous sound introduction that could be heard the ‘Third World’, in an attempt to connect struggles
throughout the entire block: an invitation to passers- and revolutionary forces. Most delegates – including
by. The place was open in the evenings, so that people artists, writers, students, scientists, activists, educators
could attend after work or studies, and so the light and psychiatrists among others – were heterodox non-
effects could have full sensual impact. The collective of aligned revolutionaries. This international mobilisation
young revolutionaries felt it was necessary to contest against the inadmissible present of 1968 is still imminent.
the notion of visiting exhibitions as a sign of distinction We, as militant researchers roaming archives in Havana,
and class-determined social relation: they wanted to living in an equally inadmissible present, must face the
create new social relationships and a new language incumbent shit.
by confronting the old. For them, to exhibit meant to
expose the world, and this required using all worldly The Revolutionary Exhibition puts the continuous rubble
means necessary. of unfinished revolts to use by opening new paths. It
constructs a new object that cannot be claimed by anyone.
The Revolutionary Exhibition should force change: it
should be change. Now. Toward what seems the most
constructive use of the world.
Archive of the Congreso Cultural de La Habana, 1968
194
Barracão
1936-1939. Chekas. Cells in the Convent of Santa Úrsula, Valencia. A cheka belonging to DEDIDE (Special State Information Depart-
ment) in Valencia, under Minister Galarza. Punishment cells without prisoners. Photo reproduced in ‘Causa General sobre La domina-
ción Roja de España’, 1941. Region of Valencia section. Pieces no. 11. Annexe VII. Photo no. 9. Ministry of Culture. FC-1068. Spain. Exp.
5. Regional Archive of Valencia. Contemporary History Section. National Historical Archive. Madrid. Photo: SIM.
1967-1970. Barracão [Shack]. Ninhos in Sussex University Experience. FUNARTE (National Arts Foundation) rooms. SUE catalogue.
Sussex University. England. Ninhos used by students and spectators. In ‘Information’, MOMA, New York. 1970. Photo reproduced in
the catalogue Lygia Clark and Hélio Oiticica. Special Room at 9th National Plastic Arts Salon. Paço Imperial. November-December, 1986.
Rio de Janeiro. MAC-USP. November-December 1987. Sao Paulo. Brazil. Photo: John Goldblatt.
The attitude of Alphonse in Valencia speaks more of his experience in the street, the savviness of a survivor, as we have seen up until now. Given
the need to lend his experiments a conventional mantle, he agreed to collaborate with officials from SIM (Military Information Service) and DE-
DIDE (Special State Information Department). It seems that in the group there were other agents from FINE ARTS IN MADRID and from the
more informal detention centres in MURCIA and ALMERÍA. The first meeting was actually more of a party as it coincided with the anniversary
of the Polish couple Peter and Berta SONIN. In the cells at SANTA ÚRSULA, a stage was improvised for performances of theatre and music,
featuring an odd bunch of prisoners and jailers. At a certain moment, LAURENCIC captured the profoundly theatrical sense of installations.
What have so often been presented as avant-garde and social control experiments by modern police forces were no more than representations
of something much older, something harking back to inquisitorial punishments and of the black legend that hovered over buildings like SANTA
ÚRSULA, now converted into a SIM prison. At the end of the day, the sensorial experiences were similar in one era and the other, as the aim
of ‘making-them-speak’ of the times of the GRAND INQUISITOR was also its ultimate goal. To this end the players had to create a suitable
stage setting. What LAURENCIC did was to transfer what he had learned from the BAUHAUS to the modern space the exact same ideas and
sensations that come from a much older time. And not only the gothic experiences of torture, but also the visions of our mystics are reflected in
LAURENCIC’s parodical language. The awareness that human experiences of pleasure and suffering are very close to each other was possessed
by both mystics and police chiefs. To a certain extent, the place that LAURENCIC was going to create is an experimental space, utopian in the
same sense as the communist ideology that protected it, a place that unquestionably would not have existed before as such. This feeling was
what surely convinced the SONINS and that enabled them to keep going and to take their experiences of calle ZARAGOZA as well as calle
VALLMAJOR, to BARCELONA. LAURENCIC saved his life, without a doubt, and the war years, which he spent in prison, were probably the
quietest of his ill-fated life.
Limitations on area no longer exist. The urban environment has come to be recognised ‘as experimentally closer to us when it is
something we want to experience day after day: mutable and subject to violent transformations.’ It was to these propositions for
the collective experimentation of other, familiar sources, which Hélio gave contemporary configurations. Written on July 22, 1973,
the date of José Oiticica’s birthday: ‘My grandfather had a dream; to transform/to live in a house that would be a THEATRE OF
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE: it doesn’t matter: lots of people already lived the LIFE-THEATER DREAM which actually is like a
THEATER-HOUSE, the interchange of stage-audience-performance day-in, day-out: so close yet so far from what I want: SHEL-
TER/SHACK/ENVIRONMENTALMANIFESTATIONS/BABYLONEST _ but isn’t SHELTER-PERFORMANCE so close to my
grandfather’s old dream? And so far?’ His grandfather developed plans of creating anarchist communities, and not just an isolated
theatre-house, an oasis within the establishment. They were heterotopias, but within a utopia, awaiting ideal conditions. Hélio, in
turn, when he came to consider the world a playground, overcame the need to construct a Shack or a series of closed, localised
cells, expanding them to the chance of the streets and everyday experiences, while directing the heterotopic opposition to focal
points of transitory location. Portable heterotopias? In the world turned shelter, the idea now is to carry this oasis through the de-
sert, rather than taking refuge in an oasis, and displacing the desert nomads. In this way, he distances himself from his grandfather’s
dream, since it’s not a utopia, but something that can be realised with every footstep.
Archivo F.X. / Pedro G. Romero, file Barracão, 2014 [Shack]
195

196
ART AND SCHOOL
Notes on Archivo F.X.’s counter-pedagogic programming
File/No.
R1.5. On the Expansion of Francisco Ferrer i Guàrdia’s Ideas on Modern Art.
New classes.......................................................................................................
a) In 1911 Renovación, a magazine from San José in Costa Rica dedicated to rationalist
pedagogy, published a chapter of ‘Las aventuras de Nono’ [‘The Adventures of Nono’]
by Jean Grave, translated by Anselmo Lorenzo, as a tribute to Ferrer i Guàrdia. In
‘Autonomy’, the little boy Nono, which is to say twice ‘no’, abandons his activities to
try to explain to us in a simple fashion the pollination of flowers and how they spread
throughout all the fields in the country thanks to the aid of gravity, the wind and insects.
The governor ordered the issue to be withdrawn from circulation, as he saw in the
story a call to proselytism and rebellion. Do you believe that children were politically
instrumentalised in the Escuela Moderna?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
b) In 1959, Herminio Almendros, who had promoted the Escuela Moderna during the
Spanish Republic, took up the post as Director General for Rural Schools in the first
government in Cuba following the Revolution. Literature and drawing applied to children’s
stories were his political priority. Can you think of any type of teaching that is not political?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
c) Italian anarchists – see image over – were the first to point out the connection
between the revolutionary seminars in Barcelona in 1909 and the pacifist
movement against the colonial war waged in Morocco. Supported by this twofold
condition, there was no lack of argumentation to purge the Eurocentric sentiment
from the Rationalist School and to transfer it to America and the Philippines. Local
indigenous arts and crafts were its first focus of attention. Are these arguments
at the basis of the Escuela Moderna’s aesthetic concerns in its expansion to Latin
America?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
d) In 1925 the Mexican state of Tabasco imposed the Rationalist School as the official
teaching system. Paradoxically, teaching art had a special focus. In the carpentry class,
students carved and painted the figure of a saint, learning its symbolism and ritual use
before finally burning it in a collective festivity. What subject do you think was being
taught with this methodology?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
e) In 1906, José Oiticica founded the Colégio Latino-Americano in Rio de Janeiro, inspired
by pedagogic rationalism. He made his first political intervention in A Lanterna, anticlerical
e de combate [A Lantern, Anti-Clerical and Combat] from São Paulo, defending Ferrer
as a martyr of pedagogy and a libertarian. Among his propagandistic occupations was
the sale of prints with laudatory emblems featuring Ferrer, which were banned. Do you
believe that this activity could be considered part of an artistic education?
.....................................................................................................................
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Archivo F.X. / Pedro G. Romero, file Art and School, 2014
197
198
Archivo F. X.:
Laboratory:
Painting Little Angels.
A libertarian children’s workshop led by the

painter Ocaña, always closely associated with
Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) – the
anarcho-syndicalist union –, in the cities of
Besançon (France), Barcelona, Zaragoza, Palma de
Mallorca and Santander (Spain)
from 1977 to 1983.
Archivo F.X. / Pedro G. Romero, file Painting Little Angels, 2014
Ocaña worked around the themes of angels to byzantinism.

As a simple rhetorical deployment, following the scholastic
debate on the sex of angels, Ocaña depicted them at that
moment hinging design and crime. As Marie-Thérèse Domon
argued, ‘for Ocaña, children are not little saints living in an
innocent world. “They are not so pure” he claims’. Ocaña
treated children like adults. All he wanted to do was to teach
them to paint. Although the themes to be addressed are also
important: saints, virgins, and the child Jesus – fantastic
figures that have to be re-imagined in a profane and lay world.
For Ocaña it is critical to introduce religious iconography into
anti-establishment, countercultural fields.
199
Real children, in satin tunics, will throw petals from up high
where I will have placed them and another child will sit on
a big moon, up there, love, up there. Look, from different
viewpoints, Our Lady of El Rocío and Our Lady of the Birds
who, as you know, are rivals, watch as the Assumption rises,
rises, from the tomb. And to the rhythm of ‘Ave Maria’ forty
big papier-mâché dolls and another forty children illustrate
the great Marian explosion. It’s going to be fabulous,
darling. For Ocaña it was crucial that children would have a
normalised relationship with his world, not just with what
was then called ‘gay’, but also with his religious fantasies and
popular mythologies.
Archivo F.X. / Pedro G. Romero, file Painting Little Angels, 2014
As an epilogue to these workshops – as a kind of ritual

postscript – Ocaña used to raffle off some of the papier-mâché
dolls and gave away a lot of the paintings to the children
attending them. Ocaña’s ‘innocent hand’ tried to share them
out among the children of friends. In any case, his extensive
production of paintings and papier-mâché sculptures thus
found natural outlets and forms of dissemination. Escaping
the market logic that tied the artist to the merchandise
he produced takes on its full meaning when the works are
understood as gifts. This act of donating is in fact nothing
short of returning to the people all that which Ocaña himself
had taken from them. For Ocaña, children were the truest
part of those people.
200
‘All it takes is
for educators to
question themselves’
Invited by the curatorial team of the 31st Bienal to contribute a re-
flection on education in Brazil, we chose to share this responsibil-
ity with people who, in their daily work, seek to reinvent schooling,
and those who think about the educational practice in art exhibi-
tions in a deconstructive and transformative way.
We came up with six questions and asked each contribu-
tor to select the one they would like to answer, imagining schools 1. In your opinion, what is
that do not (yet) exist or taking their own practices in education as public school or what should
a reference:
it be?
2. What kind of relation-

ship should there be between
school curriculum and the
autonomy of teachers and
educators?
The first three questions bothered one of our interviewees, who
opted not to participate in this process because he thought that we
had conflated education with schooling, when for him they are two 3. What is democratic man-
distinct things. Faced with this reaction, we thought of using this
introduction to briefly explain why we chose to ask these questions
agement in schools, or what
rather than others; or why we insist on reflecting on the reinven- should it be?
tion of the school and debating its public aspects, its management,
its curriculum and the roles of the teacher/educator.
More than to dismantle the school, we are concerned, us- 4. What is the significance of
ing Ivan Illich’s work as a reference, with questioning the effects
of schooling on society as a whole and, in particular, the effects of
bringing children and teen-
schooling in individuals with less exposure to the school – those agers from the periphery to
who are led to accept a hierarchy within which their subordinate
position is justified.
the Bienal?
The national systems of instruction concentrate a great
deal of public resources, but not only are these resources not
distributed fairly, they are also invested in structures which repro-
5. How should the public
duce unequal social relationships and promote the academic fail- ‘not be guided’ on an educa-
ure of those who are most in need of schooling. In order to over-
come this, we are interested in reflecting on how the resources
tion visit to an exhibition?
that each individual requires for his or her personal development
can be made accessible to all. Making clear, of course, that what
should be universal is not mandatory and equal schooling for all, 6. What is critical media-
but the right to education. tion, or what should it be?
201
This is still how we set ourselves to approach the school.
We believe in a school grounded on the recognition that we are
all equal in our capacity to learn. One which offers resources
to mediate the different cultures that comprise it. One which
recognises the diversity of its members as educational potential
and the inequality between them as a political problem. A school
that is continuously reinventing itself, with the objective of
functioning as a community of learning.
The last three questions we posed to our contributors re-
fer to education outside of schools, and they were developed with
the expectation of making a critical contribution to the educational
practices in Brazil’s art institutions. While Brazilian educator Paulo
Freire is always present as a reference, we must question whether
the ‘dialogical visits’ (instead of ‘guided visits’) have truly been
conducted as dialogues, or if educators have been guiding their
groups to interpretations that exist prior to these groups’ entering
the exhibition.
We were responsible for editing the answers we received.
The process moved us to take part in the exercise, answering
some of the questions ourselves.
Public
Graziela Kunsch and Lilian L’Abbate Kelian
School
The public school experience, by Elaine Fontana
My contact with public school comes from a number of different experiences: I studied at a
city school in São Paulo, I taught art in the state school system and these days I converse with
public school students on their field trips to museums and cultural institutions. My experience
has allowed me to observe and address distinctions between social classes, as well as unders-
tand that what happens in pedagogical situations transcends the differences that exist betwe-
en the individuals in the group.
When I was a student in the 1980s, there were in the same school kids who had trav-
elled abroad with their parents and kids who didn’t have access to a colour television. There,
despite the fact that the classes were administered in a hierarchical and authoritarian manner,
I developed a focal point: what interested me was the analysis of what went on around me,
the social clashes and the diverse worlds that comprised what school was for me. Barefoot
students, a teacher who used to talk about her trip to Cuba, friends working together, the
boy with an amputated leg who used a skateboard to get around, the social conditions that
introduced each individual, but also and mainly the way that they created and related to one
another in that shared environment.
Public school from that time seems to have some similarities with present-day public school.
It is a place of centralised power and a given hierarchy. The speech of the teacher and that
of the student, in some cases, can be quite similar, because they have had similar social ex-
periences; still, what distinguishes the two is the non-dialogical manner of the relationships
established between them. The domination that the school imprints on students, the way
that society is introduced through that microcosm, is without a doubt one of the lessons that
stays with the students. Furthermore, the evaluation of knowledge comes mostly via written
reports, separated from the development of communicative skills that allow us to express
ourselves, propose things, debate and act.
Public school should be discussed for the potential of its diversity. In public school,
we can’t invent a place to act, express ourselves and react. What we can do is to concentrate
202
on debating this potential. There are invisible, non-theoretical lessons that are not systema-
tised as methods, but which exist in potency and are not subject to evaluation. I don’t want
public school to be viewed as any private, humanist, constructivist school. On the contrary, I
want it to be alive in its own innate uniqueness, in its differences.
A diagnosis of public school, by Aldo Victório Filho
I think that public school is still not what it should be, in respect to its original meaning and
its past and current realities. For me, it is an institution of many facets, since it was created to
form citizens out of students in the intellectual, technical, cultural and social realms. In other
words, to promote their democratic realisation based on the deliberation of the present and
future of each individual in absolute harmony with the collective. Nevertheless, the schools
to which all Brazilians are ‘condemned’ for nine years of mandatory education still reflect,
often predominantly, the social asymmetry and injustices that afflict most of the population.
Conditioned to place importance on aesthetic and cultural wisdom, values, etc., that are often
foreign to students, they are led to follow policies created far from their realities. And also to
apply a curricular programme without the students or even the teachers being adequately
initiated. Consequently, they do not invest in procedures of engagement, which make knowl-
edge less an instrument of subjection and more a tool of emancipation. Still, each school is
singular in its day-to-day activities, which remain undervalued, and which hold many surpris-
es and positive results.
The reinvention of the public, by Lilian L’Abbate Kelian
Almost every time we talk about public school, we are referring to state schools: huge struc-
tures of uniform architecture, run by career bureaucrats, teachers selected through public
sector recruitment schemes at the state or municipal levels, generic, ‘cookie-cutter’ pedagogi-
cal policies and projects. We say that this school is going to promote the universalisation of
the right to education. My provocation is that we should overcome the identification between
state and public. What then should public school be? I would like to propose some primary as-
pects: 1) Public function – the education of people as the central element in decision-making;
2) Public funding, but not necessarily only public (so that its existence isn’t subjected to the
decisions of an individual, a private company or the market); 3) Budgetary transparency and
the reinvestment of any possible financial gains into improvements in the pedagogical-policy
project, according to evaluations; 4) Transparency in objectives and results, as well as partici-
pative construction of the evaluation, taking into account the education professionals as well
as students and their families.
True public education, by Graziela Kunsch
For Movimento Passe Livre (MPL), there would only be truly public education if transporta-
tion were also truly public. Many people are excluded from schools created with public re-
sources and offered free of charge because they are unable to pay the bus fares to get there.
In addition, the universal right to education also applies to the right to the city as a whole.
When MPL was created in 2005, the fight was for a free pass for students. With what
was learned through the struggle itself, the movement expanded its demands and came to
defend free public transportation (Tarifa Zero, or Fare Free) for all:
‘We learned that the free pass for students has a series of limitations. First of all, the
fact that it is a benefit and not a right. Those who do benefit receive a small amount of free
fares that can be used in a very restricted itinerary, limited between home and school. To
truly be an investment in education, the free pass would need to be unlimited, since education
can’t be limited to experiences inside of schools. We educate ourselves by going to cultural
spaces, visiting different neighbourhoods and, fundamentally, experiencing the freedom and
responsibility of being able to go wherever we want.’
203
The public as a democratic project, by Helena Singer
A public school is one whose pedagogical political project is constructed, evaluated and sus-
tained by the entire community – educators, students, employees, managers, family members
and contributors. This means that the school community is responsible for all the decision-
making procedures, including aspects regarding budgets, the management of personnel, the
management of space and the writing of the curriculum. The staff responsible for the school
is selected and evaluated by the school community. This means that such staff is employed
by the school, and not an educational or caretaker network. It is this community that the staff
must answer to and which legitimises it. In this way, public school participates in the con-
struction of the reality in which it exists, reflecting its role in this context.
Curriculum
and Autonomy
The concept of autonomy, by José Pacheco
Autonomy is a concept of vast semantic range. In the school, it shouldn’t be understood only
as the progressive independence of the student in relation to the teacher; it is, also – and per-
haps most importantly – the capacity of having an influence on the multiplicity of situations in
the teaching-learning process. It is not possible to say that the autonomous activity exerted in
this context manifests itself, in the same way, in other social contexts, but there is empirical
data that suggests the maintenance of autonomous procedures in non-academic situations. Re-
gardless of this possible transition, it is important to keep in mind that educational practices
condition the degree to which autonomy is manifested in individuals.
The concept of singularity is different from the concept of autonomy. The recognition of sin-
gularity consists in the acceptance of inter-individual differences within each species. The
recognition of autonomy is of another nature: it implies the rejection of the determinism that
transfers the origin of singularity to a mastery of chance, as well as conceiving of the exist-
ence of processes of self-organisation which yield their own determinations. In this assertion,
autonomy is the first element for understanding the meaning of subject as a complex individu-
al. It feeds on the subject’s dependence on society and culture.
The school is a micro-culture that requires adaptability for the exercise of autonomy.
This is expressed as a product of relationships. There is no autonomy in isolation. Hence a
teacher alone in a classroom is not autonomous.
Learning autonomy requires three attitudes on the part of the teacher: one is acces-
sibility – it is necessary that the student have access to the teacher as a person; another is
initiative – it is necessary to suggest, intervene in processes in order to broaden the gamut
of options; the third is availability – it is important that the student see teacher as a supporter
and not as someone who is overseeing.
Curriculum as democratic mediation, by Helena Singer
In a public school, according to the definition I previously put forth, educators and students
have the autonomy to construct the curriculum, addressing the curiosities and interests of
students and the necessities of the context in which the school exists. When the school opens
itself to a territory, for the communities that the students come from, the diverse culture of
these communities becomes the basis for the curriculum. The culture, knowledge and experi-
ences of the people from that specific place dialogue transversally with academic knowledge,
thus producing new knowledge which makes sense to these people and results in social
204
transformation. This way specific and generic knowledges construct together a collective
knowledge. A transversal curriculum is structured, above all, by projects, in which educators
and students autonomously realise their objectives in learning and social transformation. By
opening itself to the community, the school also opens up to the world, bringing people from
the community to develop initiatives, promoting educational paths that include the territory
as a field for research, interventions in the neighbourhood, participation in local community
organisations and partnerships with other organizations. All of this makes up the school’s
curriculum.
A curriculum with an open architecture, by Lilian L’Abbate Kelian
The idea that the school should no longer be a space for the transmission of knowledge but
rather a space for its production has become a clichè. But how can research be undertaken
within a structure of classes, disciplines, series and standardised tests? Research presupposes
freedom, extended periods of time, mistakes, singularity, moments of socialising and critical
evaluation. How can we talk about research if, in practice, we are still inscribed within a nor-
mative curriculum?
I like to think of schools that are communities for researchers, a diversity of people
(and of different ages) gathered together around common subjects that they want to learn
about, as well as individuals who develop projects and research of their own interest. The cur-
riculum at these schools is interdisciplinary, placing value on competence and essential skills
(and, in very few cases, content) in different areas of knowledge. This ‘curriculum with an
open architecture’ encompasses the cultural diversity of the community and the city around it.
Democratic
Management
Democracy as a permanent expansion of learning environments, by José Pacheco
Democratic management, which is said to exist, is not at all democratic. The teachers who
hold directorial, administration and management positions are subject to the ‘duty of hierar-
chical obedience’. Even when they disagree with ‘superior’ orders, they have to follow them
and make their ‘subordinates’ (in order words, other teachers) comply. We will be able to talk
about democratic management when schools go beyond the narrow scope of in-school educa-
tion to act in multiple social, political and cultural spaces.
In 1979, Lauro de Oliveira Lima wrote: ‘The expression ‘community school’ intends
to refer to the unlocking of the isolation of traditional schooling. In the future, the school will
be a community centre that promotes the synchronic and diachronic balancing of the social
group it serves. Not only will the school be used as an ‘academic’ tool, it will also be used by
the community as a centre for activities. [...] The school will not be limited to a determined
space between walls.’
Between the school, the neighbourhood, the home, the sports club, the cultural and recrea-
tional association, the workplace or the place of leisure there is room to establish a chain of
human interaction capable of giving meaning to people’s daily lives and, this way, positively
influencing their life trajectories. Therefore, we will be contributing to the creation of spaces
which, due to their anthropological density, can help to awaken the human vocation for tran-
scendence and, through this, serve as real laboratories for social connections, characterised
by ethical connections to others with the mark of mutual care, respect and sensitivity. Pro-
moted through authentic practices of social relation, intersubjective recognition becomes the
condition for coexistence, peace and solidarity – values that, as we know, the contemporary
world is badly in need of.
205
Management as a collective invention, by Lilian L’Abbate Kelian
A democratic school is a community that creates and institutes its own functions, based on a
permanent reflection on the meaning of democracy in the school context. Because of this, the
main objectives of this creation are: the development of an ethics of coexistence; the construc-
tion of a curricular proposal constituted as a ‘backbone’ which provokes and orients the par-
ticipation of educators, students and families; the autonomous constitution of the faculty; the
reflection on autonomy in the passage from childhood to adulthood; the institution of its rules
and procedures.
Democracy as a pedagogical condition, by Carolina Sumie Ramos
Democratic management presupposes that the listen/speak binomy is a right shared by all.
In a school where children, teenagers and adults cohabit, horizontal dialogue between actors
should be the starting point. In this situation of speaking and listening of different characters,
each one with their own baggage, it is possible to construct new knowledges, new worlds that
allow them to go beyond the borders of their predefined roles: teaching vs. learning, the edu-
cated vs. those being educated, success vs. failure, obedience vs. indiscipline.
In a democratic school, the management of cohabitation and curriculum is handled
by all actors: rules are defined by those involved in the situation to be regulated, taking eve-
ryone’s opinion into consideration. In this process of speaking and listening, which leads to
critical and respectful reflection, the search is for the common good of all those gathered in
the same academic space.
This way schools have their own agoras, meeting spaces for reflection and decision-making
regarding the community’s life. Through the exercise of this enconuter, political and civic
education takes place, autonomy in participation is constituted, the common good is eluci-
dated through decision-making, and democracy is constructed.
The school, as the locale for infinite possibilities, will have as many issues to debate
as may come up in the meetings between the actors. In this way, it constitutes not only a prep-
aration for life, but the experience of life itself, from the activities of citizens in their spaces of
action, with no borders to be crossed in order to achieve any status of preparation for the next
step, instead operating in a continuous flux.
Conflict as a condition of democratic management, by Graziela Kunsch
Dialogues can merely appear to be dialogues while they actually hide structures of domina-
tion. Conversations in circles, for instance, are often apparently horizontal, while they might
at every moment be traversed by instances of power: there are people who speak better than
others, people who speak much more than others, differences in social class, education, gen-
der, age… For democratic management to realise, it is necessary to make room for different
desires and the singular characteristics that might be at play, even when dealing with conflict-
ing desires.
In the workshops with teachers run by the Spanish collective Transductores, com-
prised of artists and educators Antonio Collados and Javier Rodrigo, they propose that the
group practise an ‘economy of generosity’ and an ‘active listening’. This generosity consists in
one person speaking for just two minutes if the other speaks for just two minutes, since, if one
speaks for longer, the other will necessarily have to speak for a shorter time; active listening
consists in not just hearing what the other has to say, but fundamentally hearing that which
we don’t want to hear, that which escapes our control. But the question remains if these sorts
of practices acknowledge conflict or if they serve rather to facilitate consensus.
206
The significance of
bringing children and
teens from the periphery
to the Bienal
Visitor-subjects, by Aldo Victório Filho
Taking teenagers and children from their schools or the environment in which they live to
extracurricular activities with a ‘cultural’ vocation can have a variety of meanings and results.
Common sense dictates that a visit to any museum, exhibition, etc., will always be positive
and, therefore, advisable. Still, an attentive observation of this kind of practice implies think-
ing about the forms, means and intentions – both evident and dissimulated – that guide it.
Many visits to art exhibitions serve more to make evident to these young people
and impress in their imaginary the distances and the inappropriate nature of their presence
in the spaces visited. This might be due to the careless mediation of the subtleties of cultural
difference, or to this same mediation affirming the presupposition of the unquestionable
importance of what is on display and the institution displaying it. In other words, due to the
carelessness in relation to the principle that every pedagogical act (and all contact with mu-
seums and other exhibition spaces) is an experience of learning that tends to determine the
distances and location, almost always hierarchical, between those learning and those who
already know.
In other terms, the possibly inadequate nature of mediation, or rather its biased action, can,
whether planned or otherwise, make the student or public feel inferior when facing the cul-
tural goods presented. This way, the presence of marginalised youth can have antagonistic
meanings in relation to the ideology and, obviously, the awareness that guides such actions.
Clarifying the political meanings and interests of the art institutions and offering friendly and
affectionate means for enjoying the works should make the experience precious and useful
for any visitor, obviously in the most positive way. But if the action is based on the idea of
granting ‘culture’ to the poor or in another similarly misconceived pantomime, it only hides
the obvious intention of legitimising the privatisation of the public space and the enjoyment of
culture for just a small portion of society.
The transparency of intentionality, by Cayo Honorato
In principle, you might suppose that a Bienal makes cultural and artistic resources available
to children and teenagers from the periphery, resources that are important to their education
as citizens. That, because of their being from the periphery, the Bienal is for them an extraor-
dinary, potentially transformative opportunity. That, in this way, the Bienal demonstrates that
it is a socially responsible entity, intervening in the unequal distribution of cultural capital,
democratising access to what it has to offer. That, because of this, the use of public money is
justified in the realisation of the event.
Still, you might also suppose that this is the significance for the Bienal itself, and not necessar-
ily for the peripheries themselves or, better yet, for the individuals from the periphery. What
then might be the meaning of going to the Bienal for these individuals?
I understand that the justifications for this have little to do with the investigation of this ques-
tion and that those meanings remain as postulates, not as hypotheses. In other words, they
207
remain as something that is unquestionable, and something whose demonstration would not
be necessary; that the effects of these actions are assessed less in regard to the children and
teenagers (in favour of cultural democracy) than in relation to the actual image of the exhibi-
tion (according to the unilateral interests implied by the directive of cultural democratisa-
tion). In this case, we have to ask whether bringing them to the exhibition doesn’t inevitably
involve a ‘colonising’ attitude, in a kind of symbolic violence, which presents as valuable that
which remains inaccessible to them, and presenting them with an experience for which they
should be docilely grateful. Obviously, all of this brings us back to the way these actions are
proposed, led, evaluated and brought to the public; something which I am unable to speculate
on in the case of the Bienal.
How ‘not to guide’

the public
Make learning happen, by José Pacheco
Encourage the reformulation of terminologies: develop work with and not work for; substi-
tute or for and; trade I for we. It is urgent to redefine the profile of the learning mediator, to
consider the student as an active participant in social transformations. All it takes is for the
educators to question themselves. It is this capacity for challenging practices which results in
devices for change in all social spaces in which learning occurs.
Education continues to be justified more as a means of social control than as an
instrument of personal improvement. Teaching is not indoctrination, but rather making learn-
ing happen; and the teacher is not merely someone who imposes answers, but instead some-
one who introduces topics, given that you don’t teach that which is said, but rather transmit
that which is. And it is not enough to reject so-called traditional pedagogical practices. It is
necessary equally to affirm that freedom is expressed and learned with others.
Listening to the reasons of the other, by Graziela Kunsch
I recently read a beautiful quote from film maker Eduardo Coutinho, which for me serves as a
reflection on the attitude that we educators need to have:
‘Having the collaboration of the other is an imperative necessity. And this adhesion to
the objective implies a position that I call emptiness, in the sense that what concerns me are
the reasons of the other, rather than my own. Thus, I have to place my reasons in parenthe-
ses, my existence, in an attempt to know what the other’s reasons are, because, in one way or
another, the other may not always be right, but he or she always has reasons.’
Necessar y guidance, by Cayo Honorato
The question about how not to guide the public presupposes a negative connotation of guid-
ance, which wouldn’t be embarrassing if pedagogy itself didn’t originally mean ‘to lead the
child’. So, how should we think of an educational practice which, in one way or another, de-
nies pedagogy? I can imagine what ‘not guiding’ means, in a single formulation: not providing,
nor facilitating, even less imposing readings or interpretations regarding an exhibition. This is
the case when the exhibitions, in the best-case scenario, are conceived around specific, non-
arbitrary concepts.
This situation is not contradictory at all, if we think, with Marcel Duchamp, that the actual
‘intrinsic qualities’ of an exhibition have always been penetrated by the exterior, that which
escapes the intentions of these concepts, summoning precisely the ‘non-guided’ participation
of the public. But this often involves a misunderstanding, an irresponsibility: granting a kind
208
of ‘prerogative of visibility’ (the effect of which relates to a simple psychological satisfaction)
for any possible personal interpretation on the part of the public.
Instead, I think one of the tasks of mediation is, precisely, to guide the public, in other words,
to lead them to confront their personal interpretations of at least two instances of that which
we might call public: 1) an experience of other individual interpretations, positions or an-
nouncements; 2) a discursive instance of collective enunciation. It is an actual interplay (mate-
rial and imaginary) of multiple works, exhibitions and interpretations, more or less distant
from each other in space and time, which cross and reference one another, when not com-
pletely ignoring each other.
This is a complex network, in a permanent process of reconfiguration, which cer-
tainly does not define a single narrative in the sense of an ‘ideal order’ (even though it might
consist of a patchwork of hegemonic narratives), but instead configures, for each time and
context, a common framework, a shared world, whose visibility itself is in dispute. To guide
the public is, in this sense, to lead it to take part in this dispute.
Critical mediation
The false dichotomy of directing and non-directing, by José Pacheco
A well-known theory states that teachers are self-reflective critics of their own practices. And I
believe that the development of the critical sense can occur through pedagogical mediations.
Transformations take place when people are able to decipher themselves through a dialogue
between the I who acts and the I who questions. And whenever a teacher individually assumes
responsibility for the acts of the collective whole, he or she transforms spaces of solitude into
spaces of companionship and dialogue. With this conviction, we react to the hegemony of the
transmission model, because out of an act of questioning we develop projects that produce
life and meaning for life. We insist on an interpersonal relationship and on the relationship
with the shared biological and psychological territory in networks of learning. Donald Woods
Winnicott defines a human being as a person in relation, a singular being who cannot exist
without the presence of the other. Individuals-with-others are aware of their roles in a complex
and concrete symbolic order, which protects them from the mortal effects of uniformity. If it is
true that the concept of sharing is contaminated with moralist connotations, it is also true that
it is about sharing, about the manifestation of a feeling of sharing that rejects the attitudes of
those who think they have the right to answer questions they didn’t listen to...
In the schools that I am engaged in, in contrary to mechanistic reasoning, we understand that
in a listening relationship the circulation of affects produces new ways of structuring society.
Not denying the potential of reason and reflection, we combine them with emotions, feelings,
institutions and experiences of life. The act of listening, beyond its methodological meaning,
has to have human meaning and be based in the deontology of a ‘win-win’ exchange. It has
to abandon magisterial attitudes, so that all participants learn according to Freirian methods,
mediated by the world.
It is necessary to know how to remain in ‘listening’ silence, something that is fun-
damental to the recognition of the other. I would say that we need to review our necessity
to want the other to conform to our image, respecting him or her from a non-narcissistic
perspective or, in other words, a perspective of respect for the other, the not-I, the different
from me, that which doesn’t want to catechise anyone, and defends the freedom of ideas and
beliefs.
Mediation beyond institutions, by Cayo Honorato
First of all, critical mediation should also be self-critical, both in relation to itself and to cul-
tural mediation in general. This means that it should not just expose or denounce, but also
engage itself in that which it criticises.
209
My perception is that, in the field of relations between the arts and education, that which we
refer to as ‘mediation’ is, invariably, an initiative of institutions, which alone presents us with
the outline of a largely thoughtless regime. It is precisely the political-institutional framing of
mediation or, better yet, of each mediation, and the historical-cultural circumstances in which
it has been called to work, which remain somewhat unconscious, off the radar. The motiva-
tions, in this sense, can become undesirably neurotic. Indeed, this condition interferes/
resonates in many other matters: from notions of audiences, invariably ahistorical, to the pro-
fessional identity of the mediator, invariably linked to precariousness. In light of this, a critical
mediation must be capable of signalling or even imagining/realising a trans-mediation, or an
extra-institutional mediation.
Art’s anti-pedagogical function, by Graziela Kunsch
Critical mediation is that which refuses to offer answers in the absence of questions. But this
doesn’t mean that the mediator needs to remain silent and only speak if someone asks for his
or her help. Critical mediation can be propositional, causing discomfort/surprise, distrust/
doubt. And it can also take place without the presence of an educator. One of the curators of
the 31st Bienal told me about a desire to place a Maxakali chant as mediation for one piece
in the exhibition’s audio-guide. This may perhaps be the greatest contribution of education
through art; the opening up of new paths. Art is able to show that the impossible is possible,
that wrong might be right, that not understanding things can be good.
The sur vival of astonishment, by Jorge Menna Barreto
I understand that a critical mediation is one which does not seek to facilitate the public’s ex-
perience, in the sense of making the work more transparent, but instead one that looks for
strategies to multiply its poeticity (poetics + opacity).
I like pointing at the difference between homeopathy and allopathy. Allopathy, when faced
with a symptom, seeks to combat it, or even silence it. Homeopathy, in contrast, seeks to point
at it, or even intensify it, so that the body itself can react. This is also the way anti-ophidic
serums work in the case of a cobra bite. The cure (reaction) is not in the suppression, fa-
cilitation or dilution of the conflict present in a work, but rather in the intensification of the
symptom, the concentration on it, its potentialisation. I like to think that good works of art are
those that sting us and inject a venom that doesn’t put us to sleep, but instead alters our equi-
librium axis. Critical mediation is faithful to the venom and consists in a second bite.
The edifying and benevolent discourse of the majority of education departments at art institu-
tions upsets me, because it operates by appeasing conflict, guaranteeing the digestibility and
palatability of the work. It seems to me that this logic is one of consumerism, since it seeks
to guarantee the ‘public’s satisfaction’, thus making them consumers. In this way, the educa-
tional department becomes a service provider for the institution, and the sponsor-institution-
satisfied consumer circle closes in a ‘beautiful and efficient’ manner.
And what if we allowed our public to go home dissatisfied, with indigestion, irritated and
feeling betrayed in their expectation to ‘go home satisfied’? I believe it is important for us to
think of an educational project that guarantees the survival of wonder and discomfort, which
I believe are the two greatest forms of pedagogical capital, since they are able to activate
(with no guarantee) the good old ‘desire to want to know more’, the basis of all philosophy. I
understand this as the real participatory state, potentialised by the educational action. That is,
the public enters the exhibition as a spectator and leaves as a participant in the work, allow-
ing it to survive and continue to sail on. How then could we think of a mediation that operates
based on a ‘guarantee of dissatisfaction’?
210
Aldo Victorio Filho is a professor and vice director of the Art Institute at the State University
of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ). He coordinates research projects in arts in the area of Education
and Mental Health and investigates marginalized aesthetic productions.
Carolina Sumie Ramos is an educator and a member of the management staff at the Escola
Politeia for democratic education.
Cayo Honorato is a professor at the Art Institute at the University of Brasília (UnB), where he
currently coordinates Espaço Piloto. For his doctorate, he researched the historical and cul-
tural conjunctions and disjunctions between the arts and education.
Elaine Fontana, an educator and artist, coordinates content and the instruction of educators
at the Bienal de São Paulo. Since 2012, she has been developing the project for collaborative
management at Museu Lasar Segall.
Helena Singer is a sociologist and a research fellow in Education, director of the Cidade Es-
cola Aprendiz and author of the book República das crianças: sobre experiências escolares de
resistência (São Paulo: Mercado de Letras, 2010), among others.
Jorge Menna Barreto is an artist and researcher. He is a research fellow in the Arts Depart-
ment at the State University of Santa Catarina (UDESC), where he is developing a study about
possible relationships between agroecology and site-specific practices in art.
José Pacheco is an educator, with a Masters degree in childhood education. He is an appren-

tice at Projeto Âncora and author of the book Para Alice com Amor (São Paulo: Cortez, 2004).
211
Ramp at the Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion
212
Poster for the 31st Bienal
213
Conceptual Sketch for Architecture Project, by Oren Sagiv
214
Architecture
For the 31st Bienal, the Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion is divided into three parts:
Park, Ramp and Columns. These parts separate and connect the whole, in a
way that is intended to articulate the total experience of the exhibition.
An important initial realisation in the process of developing an
archictecture for the exhibition was that the building is not ‘very big’, but
just too big to host one exhibition that can cohere as a single experience.
Another one was that a curatorial process involving commissioning projects,
experimental procedures and enhancing encounters with different publics
had to be complemented by an independent architectural process. In this
way, the event-making process could move ahead as a whole, with the
architectural design working in parallel and in dialogue with the as-yet-non-
existent artworks or projects. This affected the demands from the architecture
process, which aimed at the creation of a flexible platform that would both
allow the emerging projects to find their place, and recognise that the
autonomous restructuring of the spaces would necessarily play a significant
role in their reception.
Given that the curatorial and architectural development of the Bienal
happened concurrently, the initial absence of artworks encouraged a series
of studies about the Bienal de São Paulo at large (the city, the public park,
the Bienal’s history…), and a thorough analysis of the dimensions, depths,
circulation, orientation and condition of light and darkness inside Oscar
Niemeyer’s pavilion.
A preliminary study, investigating the various circulation possibilities
within the building and marking at the same time countless scenarios for the
accumulation of the total experience by the public, became the basis for the
articulation of the pavilion. This study resulted in devising a spatial ‘valve’,
pinned vertically through the centre of the building’s three floors, that shapes
and regulates the newly constructed divisions and connections within the
building.
In order to grasp more clearly the possible meaning of this articulation,
and to indicate the degree of separation we were seeking, simple names
were given to the three newly distinct ‘areas’. The ground floor was named
the Park area, its existing transparency and location between the public park
and the art exhibition making it unmistakably a place for social interaction.
To its northeast, connected by Niemeyer’s impressive void and concentric
ramp, the three floors of the Ramp area crystallised. Reminiscent of an
18th-century opera house, this area is identifiable as a place for a singular
event, with encounters that are constantly in dialogue and echo through the
void that connects them. Lastly, stretching for more than 120 metres at the
southwestern end of the second floor is the Columns area, an enormously
deep space dominated by a grid of columns.
Having established this division, recognised in existing spatial
characteristics, these new architectural protagonists help to write the story of
the 31st Bienal. Each of the areas and their interrelations weave a fine texture
for the exhibition, one that is diverse and solid enough to signal, organise and
orient the various projects in process.
215
Analysis
Using the variety of existing entrances and

the existing interior and exterior vertical
circulation, different options were laid out
in order to articulate the building into a site
which hosts different (separated or associated)
programmes. The top three schemes show
the basic organising principles, while the
rest develop the articulation to different
possibilities. We chose some configurations
and examined how these would create a
different experience of accumulation of the
whole each time.
216
Existing entrances
and circulation
Preliminary analysis of possible division in blocks
217
A series of conceptual models, made of rela-
tively few parts in total, followed. The models’
parts can combine different variations, thus
creating a range of diversities and affinities
throughout the ‘site’. Here is a choice of six
such configurations, which create a different
syntax of the whole each time. These models
reveal possible physical interventions required
to link, dissect and connect the whole, as well
as different spatial qualities that this strategy
may result in. For example, the potential in
entering ‘at once’ to the very long colonnade
hall on the second floor.
Accumulation schemes Conceptual models: articulation of site
218
The examination led to the creation of a
central wedge made out of space and pinned
vertically through the centre of the building’s
three floors. This central area regulates
circulation, connections and separations
between the different parts that stretch in each
of its faces – in other words, it distinctively
differentiates and defines three different areas
in the vast building. Names were given to the
newly formed areas, associated with initial
intentions and concepts, as well as physical
or perceptual characteristics: Park, Ramp and
Columns areas.
Columns area
Ramp area
Park area
219
Park area
Computer rendering of Park area
The Park area grew to become a place for into the first floor. Throughout the Park area,
the social. Situated between the place of we have created places for workshops and
the public (Ibirapuera Park) and the place other educational activities, paved the floor
of the art, it should be neither of the above. with carpeted ‘puddles’ as meeting points,
In relation to Niemeyer’s original intention, and emphasised the potential of the area to
where a large part of the ground floor remains become a comfortable entrance zone to the
an exterior space, four entrances were kept exhibition for the quarter of a million students
open as an invitation to participate in a large expected. The wooden Plataforma has been
range of events that happen during the 31st designed to host spontaneous and organised
Bienal. The exhibition only starts when the communities engaged in various gatherings,
visitor decides to step onto the ramp leading conversations, lectures or performances.
General sketch of Park area and the Plataforma
220
The Plataforma is a key expression of the
ideas behind the Park area. Neither art nor
architecture, it is an enormous piece of
furniture, temporarily placed in the pavilion
to host events that change from hour to hour
and day to day. It is also in conversation with
the mezzanine level and thereby addresses
the building directly, allowing the physical
bodies of the public to occupy temporarily
a new position in relation to the permanent
architecture.
R = 230 cm
R = 280 cm
R=
10
00 R=
cm 70
R = 350 cm 0c
m
Main plan of the Plataforma
Main section through the Plataforma
221
Ramp area
Computer rendering of Ramp area
The exhibition at the Ramp area was conceived

following the idea of simultaneity. Through
sound and vision, the three floors are
experienced at one time. To understand and
control this characteristic, vertical gazes were
mapped and a web of trajectories was laid out
associating locations on different floors.
Viewable area of the first floor Viewable area of the first floor Viewable area of the second floor
from the second from the third from the third
222
Horizontal views, study of Ramp area
The few long partitions that were constructed

are not intended to designate territories,
but rather to accentuate a specific optical
trajectory that is already present. Going up
the ramp is a process of unfolding attention
to artworks that are vaguely present in one’s
consciousness from the start. The point of view
that the visitor occupies therefore becomes the
(ever-changing) centre of perception.
Horizontal views, study of Ramp area
223
Columns area
Computer rendering of Columns area
The Columns area confronts the visitor with sometimes connect to other rooms, like myriad
a different experience of engagement. By pieces of a fragmented whole that can only be
moving from the daylight southwestern reconstructed in the mind. It is a continuous
façade into the dark heart of the enclosed journey between light and dark (natural and
space, the visitor comes across around projected) where each visitor is likely to find a
twenty-nine individual cells and niches. Each different path and hence a singular experience.
accommodates a group of artworks that
Light Light
Passage Lobby
Dark Heart
Sight Line Sight Line
Light Light
General scheme of Columns area
224
Lobby South gallery Dark Heart Inner gallery North gallery
Main Section – Columns area
Lobby
Dark Heart
Light/Dark plan – Columns area
225
Val del Omar, Fuego en Castilla, 1958-1960
[Fire in Castile]
Imogen Stidworthy’s project Balayer – A

Map of Sweeping revolves around a network
of temporary homes for autistic children
set up by the French writer and pedagogue
Fernand Deligny in 1967, around the village
of Monoblet in the Cévennes, southern
France. Rather than psychiatric care, it
was an experience of communal living Imogen Stidworthy, Balayer − A Map of Sweeping, 2014
that was on offer in these farmhouses:
therapists were replaced by untrained
social workers, and isolation by life out in
the open. In this way, Deligny sought to
create an environment that responded to
the children’s way of being-in-the-world,
notably their withdrawal from language.
Verbal communication was therefore
dispensed with and visual tools such as map-
making, photographs and films were used
to interpret their gestures and wanderings.
Although the network ceased to operate
in the early 1980s, Deligny’s collaborators
Jacques Lin and Gisèle Durand continue
to live with autistic adults in one of the
farmhouses – two of these adults arrived
as children in the late 1960s. Building upon
her ongoing enquiry into the borders of
language, Stidworthy has worked with
them to consider the legacy of Deligny’s
project and reflect upon what being without
language might indicate about the ways in
which language constructs our sense of self
and thus structures – as well as restricts
– our engagement with the world. Each
component of Stidworthy’s installation
focuses on a particular cultural practice
devised by Deligny in his attempt to take
226
Imogen Stidworthy, Balayer − A Map of Sweeping, 2014
account of the relation with the autistic

persons, and of their worldview – namely
tracing, ‘camering’ and writing. Attentive to
their heightened perception of the material
world, Stidworthy has filmed them as they
work with Gisèle Durand in a project that
she initiates from time to time, involving
tracing on paper – an activity that Deligny
distinguished from drawing to emphasise its
unintentional basis. A similar lack of purpose
underpins Deligny’s notion of ‘camering’:
an aimless filming that we can recognise
in the installation in images made from a
‘detached’ and, to a degree, un-authored
camera position. We also see unedited video
recordings taken by Lin over the years,
raw material for a future film captured
through an embedded, insider’s eye. Finally,
Deligny’s unusual style of writing – here
translated live from the French – reveals
his attempt to defy language within
language. His struggle to counter the rules
of the written word thus dovetails with
Stidworthy’s own efforts to question the
neutrality of language.
227
UEINZZ
228
< … - histoire(s) du présent - … > [< … – history(-ies) of the present - … >] is first of all an
experience and a practice which surpass the frame and time of the making of a film and bring
about spaces of refuge: experiments and practices that have always already begun and con-
tinue after and outside the film. Such an excess allows ‘filmic practice’ to take place in a larger
context, capable of questioning the meaning of its existence and its relation, its hierarchy, to
all the other parts and lived moments which make up the experience.
This does not stop cinema from emerging, nor a cinematographic reflection from accompany-
ing us. We, fragile beings, bring together our stories in such moments as these.
These practices which engage cinema, experience and documentary do not have a name; they
are fragments of history, film-documents perhaps, notes dated from a moment that gives place
to experience and its layers of meanings and which serve as its writing.
A film-document would thus be one that engages in such a precarious construction, in which
what is to be done entails, more than the making of a film, the invention of places. It will be
possible to say that there is an earth, which forever remains to be named, and offers a ground
to the experiences of those who bear perceptions or forms of minority being. And in this zone,
the film offers a reflection on the space and time of the places where we, as strangers, find our-
selves ‘between fields’, supplanting those fields that are defined as ‘entirely this or that’.
The concern here is to take the time to experiment with ways of being together that allow
a few cinematographic undertakings to occur; to allow situations to emerge, rather than be
constrained by the event. And, in this momentum, and not beforehand, to give thought to
the form that the film might take, the ways of filming or not, of unsettling this act of sharing.
These are shared experiences, open to further debate, referring to a present, which, in these
attempts, give form to the film.
If historical experience also takes place by means of the image, and if images are themselves
charged with history, the idea is to make room for collective portraits, of a group of friends,
groups of what or whoever lives, responds and attempts to resist the events with which we are
confronted.
Concretely, < … - histoire(s) du présent - … > is the account of a lived experience in São
Paulo with the group Cia. Teatral UEINZZ, a ‘non-conformist’ theatre group with which I
have collaborated on and off over the years. UEINZZ is not easy to present; it does not exist
as a word and was first pronounced by a member of the company who otherwise never speaks.
As a community without community, or rather as a community to come, UEINZZ defines itself
as a cross between limit experiences and minority artistic experiments and offers a theatrical
space to ‘whoever feels the world tremble’. A band, made up of what-or-whoever-fragile-phi-
losophers-therapists-schizos-and-others-poets-still-to-be-understood, in a unique setting where
each person’s supposed role finds its limits and fluctuates; roles are modified, recomposed or
even contested. UEINZZ is a means without an end of an opening, a place of welcome without
a definitive place. And it is this kind of pliancy and tenuousness, in a world where the ‘sepa-
rate’ reigns, that unites us. Ultimately, we desire to escape having to specify who we are, when
it ultimately amounts to being forever assigned the same role. We are crazy enough to imagine
film-documents as lived spaces that provide us with the means to escape the insufficiency of
our times… We are concerned, for our part, with the joy of being together, of creating some-
thing with what we have and who we are… and, as such, of diverting the suffering and cruelty
that exists and which contemporary society cannot afford to ignore. Alejandra Riera
229
A Transvestite in the Museum
… in some areas of Latin America the word ‘travesti’ has

shifted from an everyday insult and its definition by the
Real Academia in Spain as ‘a person who, by natural
inclination or as part of a show, dresses with the clothes
of the opposite sex’, to be re-elaborated into a political Timeline dismantled in its parallel
subject by its own titleholders. This ideological or everyday incarnations – the original dichotomy – pseudo-
decentring brings with it a revision of the order that we broken.
refute, as well as the very concept of eccentricity from Crossbred religiosity. Double hairdressers
which we assert ourselves. and pantheist altar.
Accordingly, transvestite sexualisation Performative folklore. Rite become
and marginalisation are no longer put forward as spectacle and yet, memory under its simultaneous
disqualifications but as a potential for positing a series transvestisms. Imilla (maiden) representing a native
of new associations. A history back to front. An inverted and intrusive Virgin of Carmen; Devil Chinese, Marian
memory. Museum transvestites to transvestise the museum, antithesis and complement; Sicainas, Chupaquinas
entering into it not to mimetise and disappear in it, but and Jaujinas supplanting colonial Spanish women
to transform it from within, like a Trojan horse, knocking and absorbing them.
down many false doors until revolutionising it. Then, by Contemporary crier, custom and crisis in the
reproducing the museum’s tactics to collect past and popular drag queen.
present transvestisms, this double transvestism consists Transvestite candidates for a yet
in nothing less than a process of restoration of transvestite unharvested election.
tactics per se. Devotees – another sacredness – that
The multitude of transvestised dancers in contradict gender and time as a return to primal
traditional Peruvian festivals as a twofold transformation, androgyny.
from indigenous men to white women; as wisely satirical Giuseppe as a middle name, Campuzano the
old women; or as ‘demonesses’ who act out the facets of step-grandfather’s surname, our mutant sex. Other
the virgins for whom they dance. All acts of simultaneous selves, willing – like a nineteenth-century museum –
opposition and complementariness. in their overlapping facets.
Indigenous ritual androgyny as a simile of social
uncertainty in the face of an encounter with an adverse Giuseppe Campuzano
situation or a strange ethnic group; but at the same time as
a nexus with the unknown and therefore fostering culture
while making its process explicit.
The history of transvestism is also a history of
fashion, in which appearance is a critique of established
order; where sexual politics have to erase the clear-cut
divide between private and public jurisdiction; and where
gender comments on other social dimensions such as race
or class.
A transvestite museum is a space of empowerment
and memory of transvestite people, as well as a place of
letting oneself be carried along – beyond the need for a
differentiated and safe space, in search of a necessary
deconstruction of bodies. A transvestite in the museum is
not a sign of identity but a ‘visibilisation’ of the constant
metamorphosis of bodies and knowledge, as living culture.
230
FAGGOTY. Character dressed as a woman,
with LIMPET, head of the dance of the LITTLE
BLACKS in Sechura. Along with OLD BLACK
MAN, dances between lanterns the day of
Christmas Eve, reciting couplets in corners or
the atrium of the church, ridiculing some person,
local authority or an unusual fact with his jokes
(Esteban T. Puig, Breve diccionario folclórico
piurano, 1985/1995, p.145).
< 1870 1861
The Chinese had rented a theatre (the Janaq (high) and urin (low), the indigenous
Odeon), and plays which lasted eight principle of complementary opposites
days, as in Beijing’s playhouses, were reduced to jurisdictions. Transvestite
represented there. I went one night. feathers as foundational wings that raised
Those who not long ago were porters, apocryphal archangels to wage the war of
now wearing makeup, dressed in crossbreeding – from the shamanic Manqu
admirable damasks, adopt male Qhapac to the transvestite showgirl. Other
or female roles there, representing geographies of the nation-body.
princes and priests and mandarins Meeting of theatrics, indigenous
of buttons of all kinds. The Chinese and Catholic, and colonisation of an
orchestra, positioned on stage, plays androgynous body that in being labelled
Wagnerian music that transports the transvestite was simultaneously denied
sybaritic audience that swaggers in and sanctioned as ‘female’. Patronal Feast
their seats, while smoking opium of multiple times and spaces where the
and talking softly. Gong swipes warn transvestite is realised in feminine while
the viewers when a more interesting performing the androgynous exchange
passage demands their attention. between the cultures that define it, dual
Then there is silence, and the function that is identical: a dialogue
plaintive voice of the actors and loud, between two representations of the world in
continuous, monotonous, relentless, a single aesthetic.
vibrations of the string instruments Fags and veiled equivocations, gender
being sawn, filed, scraped, pinched subversions that mix class and ethnicity
by heartless musicians can barely be transcending the enlightened panopticon.
heard. Crossbreedings as hyperboles that sketch
another ethnicity: to corrpupt identity.
Giuseppe Campuzano, Línea de vida/Museo Travesti del Peru, 2009-2013 [Life’s Timeline/Transvestite Museum of Peru]
231
The habit of women being veiled has come to such an
extent that it has caused great offences to God, and
significant damage to the Republic, on the grounds that
in that way the father does not recognise his daughter,
or the husband his wife or the brother his sister, and
women have freedom and time and space at will, and
give occasion to men to venture the daughter or wife of
the lord, as well as that of the most vile and lowliest,
which would not happen if they walked uncovered with
light discerning one from the other, because then each
would presume being herself and would be treated
differently from the rest, and different achievements
would be seen in each other: additionally, the great evils
and sacrilege that men dressed as women and covered
without being recognised have done and do, would be
prevented (Cortes de Castilla, 1586/1590, pp.21-22).
1860 1854 1836-1837
The faggot Juan José was Lima’s most

renowned chef until 1850. His stall was
under one of the arcs of the Portal de
Escribanos. His effeminate voice and
manners won him the nickname ‘faggot’.
He worked with great tenacity for eleven
months a year, and spent the remaining one
in Chorrillos for the summer and squandering
his earnings. He died almost a beggar in
Chorrillos, in 1860, and when other cooks
had already eclipsed his fame.
Giuseppe Campuzano, Línea de vida/Museo Travesti del Peru, 2009-2013 [Life’s Timeline/Transvestite Museum of Peru]
232
Viceregal arquebusiers archangels with feathered
headdress are a Christianised image of huamincas
or ‘brave soldiers’ of the god Viracocha reinterpreted
by chroniclers. Their Bourbon costumes reveal
the Frenchified atmosphere of the time, but
the arquebusier archangels seem to represent
the orthodox ecclesiastic resistance to the new
enlightened absolutism. From the time of Charles V,
the worship of warrior angels had been related to the
Hispanic monarchy and the scholastic philosophy of
Neoplatonic orientation. When Charles III expelled
the Jesuits from the New World and promoted his
enlightened absolutism in Spanish America, the
political models of the old order were suppressed and
with them all angelic discourse. However, it is still
significant that the worship of arquebusiers angels
involved a flowering of scholastic philosophy which,
according to Stoetzer, served as the ideological
framework for Independence (Ramón Mujica,
Ángeles apócrifos en la América Virreinal, 1992,
pp.206-207, 211).
1782-1785 1700 1616 >
In the version given by Sarmiento de

Gamboa, Manco Capac ‘had with him
a bird as a sacred or, as others say,
enchanted thing, and thought that that
was what made Manco Capac lord and
what led people to follow him’ (María
Rostworowski et al., Entre el mito y la
historia, Lima: Biblioteca Peruana de
Psicoanálisis, 1987/1991, p.12).
Manco Capac and his ayllus inhabited

lower Cusco and his dwelling was
the temple of Indicancha, while
the followers of Auca settled down
in the upper half or hanan. The
splitting in halves entails, in context,
a sense of gender, and comprises
an opposition and complementarity
between the Hanan and Hurin sides
(María Rostworowski, Historia del
Tawantinsuyu, 1989, p.35).
233
234
Ines Doujak and John Barker, Loomshuttles, Warpaths, 2009- ongoing
235
INDIGO Indigo A ruthlessly organised industry to meet the Western demand for indigo had such an effect upon
the lungs of the slave labourers who processed it that they never lived over seven years. When prices were
high, indigo dyestuffs could be exchanged for slaves: ”pound for pound of Negro weighed naked.”
1944 The market women of Cuzco, Peru, created an influential Union and their actions became a symbol of
popular classes` struggles. Years later during a general strike they kidnapped the opposing General, pulled
off his hat, and urinated into it, forcing him into negotiations.
Waldo Jordan I don’t have anything against things being mixed in principal, it’s not that, it was always that
people living in the highlands had to come down to the jungle or the sea, they needed coca leaves or a boat
or they were escaping Spanish taxes.
Velvet Velvet It was the most expensive of all cloth in the Renaissance period, and while banking dynasties like the
Medici were built on its production, the late 15th century ruler of Milan was murdered by his own courtiers
when his velvet extravagances threatened their position.
1954 A victorious strike by the mainly female workforce in Japan was against the Omy Kenshi Spinning
Company, which held monthly conferences to select and fire workers who were sick or otherwise could not
work hard enough.
David Riff Things changed again with Pussy Riot. I thought their bank robber balaclavas looked extremely
familiar, though I couldn’t figure out why. It was only when they performed their punk prayer that I got it.
This is much closer to some inner solidarity with Aymara women who donned these masks to become their
conquistador oppressors, inhabiting that heartbeat of a heartless world that pulses through their prayers.
SKINS Skins “Possibly in no other place in the world is there so much variety in complexion and physiognomy as
in Lima. From the delicately fair Creole daughter of European parents, to the jet black Congo Negro, people
of every gradation of colour are seen, 18 in all according to an 19th century European traveller.”
1680 The Navajo Indians gained additional weaving skills from Pueblo Indian refugees fleeing repression
after their successful uprising against colonial religious fanaticism. The Navajo acknowledged Spider
Woman, who they said had taught them weaving, as a Pueblo woman. In her honour the weavers left a hole
in the centre of each blanket like that of a Spider’s web.
Lukas Pusch Since the ‘War on Drugs’ in Mexico started in 2006, 45,000 deaths have occurred involving
gangs, the army, and a variety of special squads. In the city of Juárez alone there were 3000 such killings
in 2010. These figures are far higher than those in the occupation of Afghanistan. Violence is normalized so
that the murders have become increasingly gruesome and theatrical in style.
236
Calico Calico The imports of this wonderfully dyed cotton from India threatened home-spun English wool to such
a degree that many prohibitions against its import were made until the secrets of its production became
known. In the meanwhile the writer Daniel Defoe was especially moralistic against its use by women
servants.
0208 The Peruvian gay movement decided to reclaim the significance of Francisco Pro by celebrating “Gay
Pride” in Lima on this day. He was discovered wearing women’s clothes in 1803, brought to trial, charged
with sodomy, condemned on the grounds that tailoring was a “strange” profession for a man and sentenced
to a “public shame walk” and prison.
Cristina Bubba The Bolivian government built a museum for the returned weavings in Coroma, but the
people didn’t want to put their ancestors there because it was like a jail. So the museum is built, and it’s
empty. Either the people must be able to live in the museum, to make rituals there, to look after them, or if
they can’t have that then the museum should only be for pictures of the weavings.
Negro Cloth Negro Cloth A small ration of this ‘flimsy fabric’ of unbleached cotton was given to North American slaves
to make their own clothes. It was considered important that there was a gulf between the dress of master
and slave, but using the indigo they were forced to pick and make into a dye, negro women outraged the
Law by dressing ‘beyond their condition’.
1795 The ties of solidarity the weavers of Cuddalore, India created against the oppressive demands of the
East India Company “were not fixed, but continually made and remade ... and demonstrated extraordinary
inventiveness, resourcefulness and creativity.”
John Barker There is no peace in my heart, nor my head, nor my blood that will itch until we have killed
them all, or they have run away. But for this night fold me in your weave, warm me, make me a potato in the
soil and bring me sleep before I join the others.
Berafula Berafula In what was a Portuguese industrial laboratory on the previously uninhabited Cape Verde islands,
this blue-and-white cotton cloth was being produced in the 16th century by the first vertically-íntegrated
production of cloth, starting with the growing and harvesting of cotton and dye plant, and using slave
labour.
1932 The textile workers of Vichuga in the USSR struck against ‘socialist competition’, and for the right to
grow their own food. Despite selective repression, gains were implemented on a countrywide basis.
Judith Fischer GHOST ARTIST / SHAMANIC ACTION VERBS: disperse, loosen, distribute, cast off, wash
off, grind, shoo away, destroy, detach, cast out, dismember, kill.
TWILL Twill One of the first weaving innovations was that of passing the weft over two warp threads instead of
one, which in Bronze Age Europe needed the invention of a loom with more than one heddle. In the same
period, perhaps earlier, Peruvian weavers were using similar techniques. The distinctive twill pattern is of
diagonal lines and diamond shapes.
2013 Following 20 years of mass protests by Bangladeshi workers and the deaths of many of them in fac-
tory fires and collapses, they win a 76% increase in the minimum wage. This was opposed by the employers
even though wages remain the lowest in a low-paid global industry.
Evelyn Steinthaler I am beginning to understand what was never explained to me. I was only presented
with incomplete facts. My family drew the cowl over me, but I am no nun. I wear a suit of armor, I am
Catalina de Erauso. I killed one of them with this weapon. It was simple. He had not anticipated that I would
come so close. His bloody breath clung to me as he was laid low. I do not know how many came before
him. It is also of no consequence. Not to me. And they are used to making sacrifices. On this we agree.
Alpaca Alpaca A hundred years after the Spanish invasion, the alpaca had disappeared in many regions of the
Andes and barely survived in others as a result of disease – human and animal – and the imposition of
sheep, along with strategic neglect. Amazingly they survived, but when in the 19th century the wool
entered the world market, it led to concerted attempts to grab land from Indigenous people.
237
1903 LA PAZ COUNCIL DECREE, 1st Article: “The dress that the Indigenous class in our town of La Paz
persists in wearing, with bare feet, shirt, torn trousers on their lower extremities and long hair, is retrograde
and counter to the principles of morality, which therefore condemns and forbids it.”
T.J. Clark Somewhere near the start of my time with the cloth which has been with me for some months
now, I received a photograph by email. It’s of the Soviet army, probably in Poland in 1920. In one corner we
see soldiers holding a banner with a single-coloured square on a white background. At this time Kasimir
Malevich and his followers had taken control of the Vibetsk Art School. Could it be that they made it as
a red, or more likely, black square? There is evidence that his abstract paintings were hoisted on poles in
processions.
Gold Gold Gold thread woven into velvet clothing was a signifier of power in Europe at the time of the invasion
of the Americas while the invaders themselves were only interested in it as money treasure, ripping off the
gold sheathing from an Inca temple with crowbars.
1859 Bengali tenant farmers refused to sow any indigo for the British colonialists saying they would die
without land to grow their own rice. The scale and level of self-organisation involved in this campaign cre-
ated a precedent for the Indian Independence movement.
Catherine Lord Upon admission, the child was given a number and a new name. Parents who hoped to
reclaim their child one day left a small piece of fabric which hospital officials pinned to the ledger page that
recorded the date of the child’s acquisition, along with her weight, hair color, physical condition, marks on
the body and so forth. This scrap of fabric was the translation of a child.
Dye Spy Dye Spy Dye chemistry was the basis of the whole chemical industry and in the early years of the 20th cen-
tury it was dominated by Germany, including its factories in the USA. The First World War, with embargoes
and factory seizures, saw the start of a long competition with the USA, which involved the use of industrial
espionage by both sides.
1794 The successful revolution by slaves in the indigo and other plantations of Haiti, which led to the forma-
tion of an independent state in 1804, soon inspired revolts of cotton slaves in the USA.
Shooshie Sulaiman
LOOMSHUTTLES / WARPATHS The long-term and ongoing artistic research explores the complex relations of cloth, clothing and
colonialism from earlier to contemporary forms of globalisation.
The colour/textile and dates texts are co-written by Ines Doujak and John Barker. Posters by Ines Doujak.
The artistic research is sponsored by FWF Austrian Science Funds (AR 19-G21)
238
Juan Downey, Untitled (Perú-Bolivia), 1976
239
240
Nilbar Güreş, Overhead, 2010
Nilbar Güreş, The Grapes, 2010
Masked figure of the Kawmot, South coast of New Britain
241
The production of images is one of
the decisive areas of struggle for other forms
of subjectivity, especially in contexts such
as media culture, where the white, male,
heterosexual body is in full political and visual
command. This is, as queer theorist Beatriz
Preciado says, the body with the ‘political-
orgasmic’ hegemony, the one who ‘has access
to sexual excitement in public, as opposed to
those bodies whose gaze must be protected
and whose pleasure must be controlled’. Here,
drag practices contribute to denaturalise and
disrupt a false social construct, and bring
together a new coalition of monsters, offering
other geopolitical morphologies from which
to resist and act. It is as if all those despised
bodies returned through an alliance that
no longer responds to the demands of an
orthodox identity and its claims of social
discipline, in order to celebrate a perverse
pleasure and an inspiring solidarity of sexual
deviance.
Religious drag appearances,
developed between the late 1970s and
early 90s under regimes of oppression or
transition to democracy, undo Catholic
imagery’s devout models of femininity (the
saint, the virgin, the blessed), and disable
the oppressive component of morality that
organises and controls behaviour in public.
Sergio Zevallos, Martirios, 1983 [Martyrdom]
Dios es marica
A project by Miguel A. López
How to write the history of subjects who have been repeatedly
erased from history? What kinds of knowledge do the bodies
of so-called sexual minorities produce – knowledges that are
still unintelligible within the dominant modes of discourse and
narrative construction? In the androgynous, drag and transgender
(as well as other non-normative positions), we are faced with a set
of bodies in which the dispossession of their human condition has
historically persisted – not through registration and surveillance,
but through silence and the effacing of their traces in the official
directories. That is when the few existing traces have not been
used just to pathologise, to exclude or to normalise difference.
As the disappearance of these bodies has been a feature in the
formation of classical archives and traditional historiographies,
the trans-feminist and queer cartographies that respond to this
situation require the rejection of identifications, and wagers on Sergio Zevallos, Ambulantes, 1983 [Strolling]
(re)inventing those histories that do not exist.
242
Yeguas del Apocalipsis, Las dos Fridas, 1989/2014 [The Two Fridas]
These presentations are a critical response

to colonial processes in Latin America and
Spain, where religion has played a key role
in the training of Eurocentric civilising
cultural and moral values. State and religion,
alongside military authoritarianism and
Catholic devotion, have been part of a
strong conservative social matrix that drag
practices confront and subvert, by parodying
heterosexuality and by intervening in the
codes that divide the social body into normal
and sick subjects, into proper and deviant
sexualities, into those who deserve to live and
those who don’t.
Yeguas del Apocalipsis, San Camilo – Leonora, 1989/2014
243
Such practices renewed the modes
of social intervention from the margins of
the cultural and art systems, disengaged
from any economic rule and traditional
ideas of good taste. These transgender
appropriations of religious iconography in-
tervene in social power relations and in the
institutionalised systems of morality and
social respectability, opening pathways that
had been blocked, and doing so in order to
establish new territories of critical devotion
for non-normative desires and bodies. They
shift the shape and nature of God, turning
it queer. Mujeres Creando, sketch for Espacio para abortar,
1989/2014 [Space to Abort]
Miguel A. López
Nahum Zenil, Evangelista, 1989

[Evangelist]
Nahum Zenil, Gracias Virgencita de Guadalupe,

1984 [Thanks to the Little Virgin of Guadalupe]
244
245
Ocaña, Inmaculada de las pollas, 1976 [Immaculate of the Cocks]
Nurit Sharett, Counting the Stars, 2014
Counting the Stars

Conversation between Nurit Sharett and Carlos Gutierrez
The term Anussim – ‘forced’ in Hebrew – refers to the Nurit Sharett: What do you mean with ‘there are no
descendants of Jews forced to convert to Catholicism Jews’?
during the Inquisition regime in the Iberian Peninsula.
They are also known as Marranos (crypto-Jews) or New Carlos Gutierrez: This is always shocking! Of course
Christians (cristãos novos), in opposition to the Old there are Jews, but how can we define them? Many
Christians. Many of them used to keep hidden Jewish orthodox groups won’t consider you Jew because you
practices and were often persecuted by the Inquisition. are not religious. But I cannot consider their opinion as
‘the truth’. We have a plurality of visions and perceptions
Nurit Sharett: I started my journey in 2011 when we about Judaism. Anthropologists can’t decide who is
went to the east zone of São Paulo to meet a member Jewish or not. We have to analyse this struggle and how
of an Anussim group. Until then I thought the Anussim the agents involved in it use these categories, classify
belonged to the past, having learnt about them in high themselves, justify their positions and deny the identity of
school history lessons. the other. When I say ‘there are no Jews’, I am referring
to the fact that this is a social construction that changes
Carlos Gutierrez: I discovered the group in 2007 all the time.
and followed them through a process that we in If you look at the old texts in the Torah, it says
anthropology call participant-observation: living with that a Jew is someone who has a Jewish father. This thing
and like the group, eating kosher food, going to their of being Jewish by mother appears only after the Roman
jobs and analysing their interactions. My main goal war in Judea, because there were very few men left. They
was to study how the Jewish identity is defined in a had died fighting against the Roman Empire. So the
struggle that involves this specific group as much as rabbis, at that time, decided to change the established
the ‘established Jews’ – who are generally considered order of classification to the actual form. But liberal
to be the ‘real’ ones. I don’t consider that there are real synagogues still consider anyone who has a Jewish father
and fake Jews. One could say that there are no Jews but to be Jewish, as they refer to the old texts! So, who is
that Jewish identity, like any identity, is produced on an right? What is Judaism? We cannot answer this question,
everyday basis. it is under construction and it will always be.
246
Nurit Sharett: This first encounter with the Anussim were related to Jewish practices. Anita helped us to histo-
made a strong impression on me. I felt that this group ricise and to understand this phenomenon in Brazil. The
is suffering from two sides, the Jews don’t let them into people who consider themselves Anussim learned a lot
their synagogues, so they have to create their own, and with Anita’s work as well, and they use it to argue about
their Evangelical neighbours don’t want them in their their Jewish identity. They bring these arguments to
area either. Can you explain to me what brings people at rabbis. They have access to academic work and they use
a certain point in life to call themselves Anussim? these sociological and historical concepts as strategies to
gain legitimacy within the established Jewish community,
Carlos Gutierrez: In the end of the 1990s, this justifying their positions.
question exploded, and many people started to consider
themselves Anussim and to claim their Jewish identity.
Why did it happen? I have two connected hypotheses:
urbanisation and Pentecostalism.
When people are in rural areas, they have
only two options: being Catholic or Evangelical. When
they go to cities, they have the possibility of interacting
with many other groups, such as Jewish people. At the
same time, with urbanisation, Evangelical groups have
grown practically from zero, in the 1950s, to about 42.3
million today, which represents 22.2 percent of Brazil’s
population! Most of these Evangelical movements claim
to be the ‘New Hebrews’ – adopting Hebrew words,
Jewish symbols and Jewish rituals in their churches. Nurit Sharett: If Judaism is always in construction, why
So the majority of those who classify themselves as is the Anussim issue so problematic? Why are they not
Jews have a previous experience, through Christian being accepted as Jews by the Jewish establishment?
institutions, that provided them with a ‘grammar’ of
Judaism. Many of them, before discovering their ‘Jewish Carlos Gutierrez: We have, in the Jewish Law, trials
roots’, in their own words, were admirers of Jewish about the Anussim question in the Netherlands in the
culture, religion and language. seventeenth century. Many rabbis judged cases of
Anussim, in order to see if they could be accepted inside
the community. So, what has changed? Why is it now a
problem?
The people who classify themselves as Anussim
don’t want to wait for a Rabbinical Court. They want to
be Jewish right now. So they start to create their own
synagogues and to define themselves as Jews. They
changed the rules. The monopoly that the established
Jews used to have is gone! Everyone can be Jewish
now. Of course, you won’t be considered Jewish in an
established synagogue, but many of them don’t care
about this. They only want to have their faith. When
the Anussim started to create their own synagogues,
Nurit Sharett: Can you explain to me what you mean by they contradicted the established power that the Jewish
grammar? community had. And, surely, the established Jewish
community does not enjoy this situation. Eventually,
Carlos Gutierrez: When I use the term grammar, I refer many of these Anussim want to be recognised by the
to the knowledge of the Anussim issue; the historical established Jewish community and by the Israeli State, so
context; the Inquisition; the ‘new Christian names’ (Mor- there must be some kind of interaction, but not the kind
reira, Carvalho, Perreira, etc.); and how these are opera- of interaction that rabbis want. Something different, that
tionalised by these social actors when they justify their is being negotiated all the time. In the past, rabbis had
positions and claim their Jewish identity. Here I have to total control, now they have to negotiate. The Anussim
emphasise the importance of Anita Novinsky’s work. She destroyed an established logic of power in order to
was a pioneer in gathering all the data we had in Brazil establish another one.
and Portugal about the Inquisition, showing how the
majority of cases denounced by the Inquisition Tribunal
247
Virginia de Medeiros, Sergio e Simone, 2014 [Sergio and Simone]
248
Arthur Scovino, Caboclo Borboleta
(O Caboclo dos Aflitos), 2014
[Butterfly Caboclo
(The Caboclo of the Aflitos)]
Simone is a transvestite who takes care of a natu-

ral spring – Fonte da Misericórdia in Salvador – as a
shrine for the worship of the Afro-Brazilian orishas.
Sergio is an evangelical preacher who sees himself
sent by God ‘to save the human race’. Simone and
Sergio, or Sergio and Simone, are one and the same
person.
249
Towards an art of instauring
modes of existence
that ‘do not exist’
Peter Pál Pelbart
The art of instauration to? And to what extent do they exist by themselves? How
much do they depend on us? How in us are they? And,
However extravagant the notion of a non-anthropological finally, what exactly is their status, if indeed they should
subject may seem – especially in an era that clings to all be immediately clustered into a single group, against
the primacy of the human subject – we must acknowl- the current of the existential plurality they appear to
edge that contemporary thought tends to admit multiple foretell? And what effects do they have on our existence
streams of experience or ‘feelings’ (as Whitehead puts it) and imagination? For Bruno Latour, some of them have
as well as multiple modes of being, according to a plural- the dual ability to transform us into something else while
ity of worlds.1 Thus, amidst the bankruptcy of anthropo- also transforming themselves into something else. As he
centrism which we have witnessed in recent decades in writes:
various fields ranging from philosophy to ecology, be-
ings who once seemed bound to their subjective sphere What would we do without them? We would
have gained another status, a new life. Invisible, impos- be always and forever the same. They trace
sible and virtual entities that were supposed to belong paths throughout the multiverse – to speak
to the realm of imagination, the spiritual, representation with [William] James’s words – paths of al-
or language cheerily crossed the boundary between teration that are at once terrifying (since they
subject and object, and reappeared in another ontologi- transform us), hesitant (since we can deceive
cal key. We are no longer the only actants in the cosmos them) and inventive (since we can allow our-
– protosubjectivities swarm everywhere, and even what selves to be transformed by them).3
seemed a mere object of techno-scientific manipulation,
such as nature itself, leaps onto the stage, claiming its Étienne Souriau, in his book Les Différents Modes
own means of expression. Just notice, in relation to this, d’existence, published in the late 1930s, often used lofty
Peter Sloterdijk’s considerations during his preparatory language to lend shape to a sort of metaphysics that
talks for the opera Amazonas (2010), where he detects would encompass these very beings whose existence,
an ‘Amazon sorrow’ in the face of the forest under threat. according to the parameters and templates available to
Sloterdijk believes that the protagonist of the experiment us, can neither be affirmed nor denied with precision.4
could be none other than the ‘Amazonian subject’ itself.2 He concludes that, in principle, no being has substance
In light of this perspectivism, one of the cosmopoliti- in and of itself, and that in order to survive a being must
cal issues of the day could be: which sorrow does each be instaured. Thus, before even attempting to create an
actant, human or non-human, bear? Which is the threat inventory of beings according to their different modes
that each one of them, and we together with them, face? of existence, Souriau proposes a certain art of existing,
And what devices should be used, be it to give them a of instauring existence. For a being, thing, person,
voice, to bring them to light or to let them evade our vo- work, to conquer existence and not merely exist, it must
racious gaze? From the Amazon to the autistic, the point be instaured. Instauration is not a solemn, ceremonial
in question is the same – that of modes of existence. institutional act, as ordinary language would have us
Singular, human and non-human modes of believe, but a process that elevates that which exists
existence emerge everywhere, in spite of the new, to an entirely different level of reality and splendor –
planetary-scale forms of biopolitical management of life ‘patuity’, as was said in Medieval times. ‘To instaure’
heading toward homogenisation at a dizzying pace. What does not so much refer to the act of creation as it does
kind of existence can we attribute to these ‘beings’ that to the ‘spiritual’ establishing of something, ensuring it a
populate our cosmos, agents, actants, larvals, entities, all ‘reality’ within its own genre.
with their own ways of transforming themselves and us? There is, then, no single source of instauration
Neither objective nor subjective neither real nor unreal, (will, consciousness, spirit, body, the unconscious, etc.)
neither rational nor irrational, neither material nor sym- and, today, one could say that there are multiple ‘devices’
bolic; beings somewhat virtual, somewhat invisible, met- of instauration. Therefore, every philosophy, as well as
amorphic, propulsive – which category do they belong every religion, science and art form, establishes its be-
250
ings and thereby ushers in a unique world – never the right to exist.’8 It is, therefore, a matter of defending this
same one: ontological and existential pluralism, a multi- right – becoming the advocate of the being to come, a
verse! The implications of such a procedure cannot be witness of this or that mode of existence, without which
underestimated. As Latour writes: this existence might not come to be.
But how are we to imagine that thought and
Apply instauration to the sciences, and all of matter, Hamlet, Peer Gynt, the square root of negative
epistemology changes; apply instauration to numbers, the white rose… could exist in the same man-
God, and all of theology changes; apply inner, asks the author? Of course they do not share the
stauration to art, and all of aesthetics changes. same mode of existence. The instauration of each being
Apply instauration to the question of the soul, always involves innumerable unique trials (liberty), suc-
and all of psychology changes. What implodes cessive determinations (effectiveness) and a profusion
in all four cases is the ultimately rather pre- of misunderstandings (errability). The creator is always
posterous idea of a spirit at the origin of the confronted with a situation of doubt, as if he or she were
action and whose consistency then ricochets hearing the voice of a ironic sphinx asking them: what
out onto a material that holds no other weight, now? The work questions, calls, parasitises, exploits, an-
that has no other ontological dignity, than that nuls him or her – it is a monster! – but at the same time
which one condescends to attribute to it. 5 demands testimony, solicitude, even to encounter the
implied accomplishment, which always requires discern-
ing what is feasible amidst the chaos of the world. No
The art of existing intentionality, no anthropocentrism, no mystification of
the impossible work – only the instauration, the trajec-
For Souriau, art and philosophy have one fact in com- tory, the soul that is equivalent to a point of view:
mon, which is precisely that both of them aim to instaure
beings whose existence they themselves legitimise, ‘a I think of a little child who has taken con-
kind of radiant demonstration of a right to existence, siderable time to carefully arrange different
which is affirmed and confirmed by the objective glow objects, large and small, on his mother’s table,
and extreme reality of an instaured being’.6 All indica- in a way that seemed graceful and ornamental,
tions are that Souriau craves something like an art of in order to ‘please’ her. The mother arrives.
instauring, an art of bringing into existence beings that Calm and distracted, she takes one of the
still drift in a fictional, virtual, distant and enigmatic twi- objects she was looking for, puts another one
light. Therefore, all his thought could be a harbinger of in its place and undoes everything. And when
this call for a ‘work in progress’ – and work here does the explanations that follow the repressed
not necessarily refer to artwork, as even man is a ‘work sobbing of the child reveal the extent of her
in progress’, incomplete, open, unforeseeable. Thus, in misunderstanding, she exclaims in desola-
each case, it is not a matter of following a given project tion: ‘Ah! Poor thing, I didn’t realise that it was
to be fulfilled, but to open up the field for a trajectory to something’.9
be followed according to the questions, problems and
unforeseen challenges, each of which must be addressed David Lapoujade comments on Souriau’s example as fol-
individually. The vital challenge for each one of us, then, lows:
is not to emerge from nowhere, in a creation ex nihilo,
but to go through a kind of original chaos and ‘choose, I had not seen… What did she not see? What
out of a thousand and one encounters, those propositions is ‘this thing’ that the mother does not see?
of being that we want to assimilate or reject’.7 Nothing is One could say it is the child’s soul – fully
a given, nothing is guaranteed, everything may collapse, transposed to the objects. One could say that
the work, its creator, the instauration – but this hesita- the careful arrangement of objects is testi-
tion is inherent to the process, not an ontological lack mony to the presence of the child’s particular
or constitutive failure. This is because the vital path con- point of view. Both statements make sense:
sists of exploration, discoveries, encounters, separations she sees objects, because she arranges them.
and painful resignation. Against the idealistic willfulness What she does not see is their mode of exis-
of the creator who starts from a blank slate, the solici- tence from the child’s point of view. What she
tude regarding the ‘matter’ that beckons to him, ‘the does not see is the child’s point of view; she does
emerging being claims its own existence. In all this, the not see there is a point of view there – a point
agent has to bow to the will of the work itself, to foretell of view that exists. Obviously such blindness
this will, and renounce himself in favour of this autono- applies to all modes of existence discussed by
mous being that he seeks to foster according to its own Souriau.10
251
It is the pragmatism of our perception that, in privileging endurance of the poem themselves conquer their own
solid and manifest realities, neglects the plurality of per- existence, on a different level. Not unlike Nietzsche, who
spectives, of planes of existence. claimed to have been born through his own work. Who
Instead of sacrificing the existential positivity made whom? More than just creators, we are the fruit
of ‘entire populations of beings’ on the altar of a given and effect of that which has been created through us. We
Truth, it would be appropriate to multiply the world to are its witnesses.
accommodate them all – hence the effort to mobilise var- More than the classification of modes of exis-
ious concepts to ensure plurality and distinction among tence of which Souriau takes inventory and carefully
modes of existence, without turning these concepts into analyses (phenomenic, solicitudinous, virtual, super-
stages of a single evolutionary and universal process. existing, etc.), what is of interest is the passage between
Moreover, rather than asking: ‘does it exist?’, ‘and in them and their world, which the author calls synaptic,
what way?’, we need to know whether it is possible to no longer ontic: the transitions, twists, jumps and trans-
exist ‘a little, a lot, passionately, not at all’, to varying de- formations, these movements where beings are implicit
grees. For example, by existing in a state of possibility, in accessories of or catapults for enormous dramas – in the
potency, or on the verge of emerging alongside the now, same way the characters that a child uses during play
or existing, stammeringly, below a threshold of integrity serve to reveal true events. In a world conceived in this
– so many different ways of existing, between being and manner, events are what really matter – that which aris-
non-being, so many gradations! Even before comparing es, becomings, through which one moves to a different
the modes of existence with one another, would it not be plane of existence as a result of a change in perspective.
possible to consider the oscillation of a being between its For the event consists precisely of this: a change in per-
maximum and its minimum? As if every existence could spective, in the plane of existence. ‘Moments ago the cup
be evaluated in itself, according to its intensity: intensive was intact; now there are only these pieces. In between
modes of existence. the two moments is the irreparable. Irreparable, insu-
pressible, unconcealable even by the subtlest resources
of the spirit, which may deviate from but not contradict
Ghosts and events it. The patuity of the irreducible. Such is the existence
of the fact.’12 See how David Lapoujade adopts this ex-
Souriau employs unusual images to blur our categories. ample:
After dying, a man returns to the world of the living to
visit his beloved and take revenge for his own death. One may doubt the reality of certain existen
With only vague memories, he is unsure: where am I? ces, but not the facts, as they have an efficacy,
What am I like? What is my mission? Am I an envoy for they change something in the way beings
something – for what? Faced with a world populated with exist. The virtue here is not that the glass has
hints… Souriau means to say that we are all like ghosts. been broken, it is its change in status. It is no
We don’t know if we can be solely responsible for our ex- longer a cup, but sharp fragments. Following
istence; we don’t know how much strength or weakness Souriau’s perspectivism, the event is a turning
we have for this, how incomplete or unfinished we are. point: something happened that made it im-
It is necessary to instaure our own existence, but also possible to regard the cup as a cup.13
a sculpture in progress, a book in progress, a thought
crossing our mind – they all demand an instauration. These events, precisely because they consist of a turn-
They are, thus, existences invented within the very ing point, make us see and even create a new soul in the
trajectory of their instauration, a journey permeated by psyche of those who go through them! The author then
‘intense existential variations’.11 If for some modes of concludes:
being existence depends on their own strength (‘if you
want to be’, Mephistopheles tells Homunculus, ‘make There is soul as long as one notices some-
it your own affair!’), for other beings it depends pre- thing unfinished or inconclusive in a mode of
cisely on the strength and solicitude of others – they are existence – as such, it requires a ‘principle of
solicitous modes of being. A poem cannot reach existence amplification’, in short, the sketch for some-
without the testimony, devotion and solicitude of oth- thing bigger or better. Once again, through all
ers – both poets and readers. Imaginary beings depend of these unfinished existences, their demand
on our desire, care, reverence, hope, fantasy and enter- to be amplified, magnified, in short, made
tainment, and are therefore subordinated to them. Yet more real. Hearing such demands, and seeing
even so they are no less effective than those on which all that is unfinished in these existences, is to
they depend. However, it is precisely by means of their take their side. This is what it means to enter
solicitude that those who contribute to the creation or the point of view of an existence, not in order
252
to see through its eyes but to make it exist breaking away from the subject, detecting at times that
even more, to turn it into a superior existence what escapes us, precisely that which we do not see be-
or to make it ‘truly’ exist.14 cause we speak, and that they see because they do not
speak…
After all, are there not more ardent, seething, gushing Hence the extraordinary status of the image in
modes of existing? Existing hopelessly, saltatorily, differ- Deligny’s work. Language will never be able to tell us
ently… what image is, he insists, because it shields it with its
If there are existences in a state of ‘incomplete- injunctions, objectives, commands, threads and senses.
ness and of precarious instauration that escape con- Regardless of how much we are invaded by images from
sciousness’,15 Souriau seems to want to restore rights to everywhere, they are images tamed by language, images
these liminary, evanescent, precarious, fragile existences subordinate to communication, images circulating within
that we neglect, even if the stability that we can offer a trading system or as commodity – image-commodities,
them is non-corporeal or spiritual, and even if we have commodity fetishism! The image replete with inten-
to lend them a soul. This is how we become their wit- tions and culture precisely abolishes the image. It would
nesses, their advocates, their ‘existence-holders’, says therefore be necessary to counterpose this to what
Lapoujade: we carry their existence just as they carry Deligny terms ‘the image we lack’ in its bare state and
ours, to the extent that, from a certain point of view, we poverty, in its character devoid of intent – the image that
only exist inasmuch as we make others exist, or when paradoxically is not made to be seen, that at its best is
we amplify another existence; or when we see soul or not seen, that reveals what evades, what evades us, what
strength where others see or feel nothing, thus creating escapes. The status of these images is opposed to all rep-
with them a common cause. resentation, all intentionality – in fact, all idealism. It is
not the image of a subject, for a subject, against a subject
– there is, precisely, no subject.
Elusive life Deligny can then assert not only that the image
is autistic, because, like the autistic, it does not say or
It is in the work of Fernand Deligny that we find the mean anything, but also that the autistic thinks through
most beautiful and embodied example of all the above. images. The image is not even a thing that exists in
During the years he spent living in the company of itself – it arrives, passes, crosses and only reaches us
autistic children in France, Deligny set up a collective thanks to retinal persistence, a deficency in our organ of
structure suitable for sheltering a mode of anonymous sight… In fact, an image is like a flock of wild geese that
existence that was non-subjective and immune to all sym- take off in a V-shaped formation when responding to a
bolic domestication. Here is a world free not only of lan- threat.18 Deligny is interested in images taking flight, not
guage, but of all its practical implications: will and objec- lingering!
tive, outcome and meaning.16 Against the cult of getting We have arrived at the gates of Deligny’s cin-
things done, a result of the desire to draw results (e.g. ema. For cinema could support all this if it were not
to work, to make sense and to communicate), Deligny completely subjected to language, to narrative, to the
evokes the act, in the very particular sense of the selfless obligation to tell a story, to make sense and to emit a
gesture, of unintentional, non-representational move- moral judgement, to have an uplifting or educational
ment that could consist of weaving, drawing, painting reach. If cinema didn’t have the film as its goal, it could
or, even, at its limit, writing. In this world in which the attain images. But this would require cinema to stop
teetering of the stone and the noise of the water are no ‘producing works’, desiring a product. Perhaps only
less relevant than the murmuring of men, Deligny places then would cinema be able to reach ‘things’ as a process,
himself in the position of ‘not wanting’ in order to give as an event. It would even be necessary to change the
way to the interval, to the tacit, to irruption, to spilling. verb ‘to film’ – after all, why identify an activity through
There is no passivity or apathy in this attitude – on the its final product? We don’t say ‘booking’ when writing a
contrary, it is necessary to clear the ground constantly, book, and when using the hammer we call the act ‘ham-
to free it from what divides the world into subject/object, mering’. We would therefore, perhaps, need to say ‘to
living/inanimate, human/animal, conscious/uncon- camerate’. In the article he wrote with this title, Deligny
scious, individual/social, so that the field may open and advocates respecting ‘that which means nothing, says
possibilities arise.17 In such a context, Deligny asks: how nothing, does not address, in other words, escapes the
can we let the autistic individual exist without imposing symbolic domestication without which there would be no
a him/her, a Subject, a self, self-reflection – all of these history’.19 It would be necessary to ‘camerate’ that which
attributes – even in a private mode? For he is convinced escapes us, that which cannot be seen, the lost images –
that he does not see himself, precisely because there the images falling from a cross-eyed camera, images that
is no ‘he’ that can reflect himself… It is the individual are not addressing anyone, on their way toward disap-
253
pearance… Involuntary images, just like a revolution… The possibilities of life
‘Whether it is a revolution or an image, all that it takes
is to pull away, first and foremost, from wanting-to-do- Now we can broaden the spectrum of these comments.
them.’20 Deleuze never tired of repeating, throughout his work,
Just as art is for nothing and politics has a that it is feasible for our thought to conceive of new pos-
programme, here we are dealing with the art of placing sibilities of life, new modes of existence. ‘Thinking would
oneself on the level of ‘for nothing’, of the most insig- then mean discovering, inventing new possibilities of life,’
nificant of events (for us). Jean-François Chévrier may he writes, before quoting Nietzsche saying,
have a point when stating that there is an archaic aspect
in all of this, a kind of animism, or the dream of an ‘em- There are lives with prodigious difficulties;
bodied image that would be the living trace of a bare these are the lives of the thinkers. And we
existence’.21 But is this archaism really an issue? Are we must lend an ear to what we are told about
really as modern or postmodern as we imagine? Or is it them, for here we discover possibilities of
now ever more interesting to highlight these rebounds life the mere story of which gives us joy and
from ancient times that surface due to threats coming strength and sheds light on the lives of their
from the future, as Davi Kopenawa proclaims, in another successors. There is as much invention, re-
context?22 flection, boldness, despair and hope here as in
It is not appropriate to apply Souriau’s con- the voyages of the great navigators; and to tell
cepts to the work of Deligny, since Deligny forged his the truth, these are also voyages of explora-
own concepts according to the ‘subject’ that was his. tion in the most distant and perilous domains
Nevertheless, intriguing convergences do not go unno- of life.24
ticed. After all, Deligny built a subtle yet complex device,
conceived from silence, maps, paths, contiguity, an entire But who evaluates modes of existence? How to
spatiotemporal agency where these ‘lesser existences’23 judge whether one is preferable to another? Which
could master their patuity without abandoning anything criteria should be applied? Here is the first response
that was peculiar to themselves; their mode of existence that Deleuze provides, when criticising – along with
made of elusiveness, wander lines, invisible webs (their Nietzsche and Antonin Artaud – the habit of philoso-
soul), on the brink of social invisibility and all the canons phers who behave as if they were supreme judges put-
that determine who deserves to live or to be seen – per- ting life on trial:
haps because, as Deligny once wryly suggested, they
are bored with the soap opera of our lives, preferring a Judgment prevents the arrival of any new
thousand times over the excitement of trickling water to mode of existence, for such a mode is cre-
our tedious spectacle. ated through its own forces – in other words,
Could there be a schizophrenic mode, an Indian through the forces it knows how to capture
mode, an Oriental mode, a black mode, an artistic mode, – and is worthy for and in itself, inasmuch as
just as there exists an autistic mode? Or, on the contrary, it makes this new combination exist. Perhaps
is it precisely the point that what we need to insist on this is where the secret lies: bringing into
is the ‘in-between’ in order to shatter such clichés and existence, rather than judging. If judging is
the cartoonish and identitarian typology that sustains so repugnant, it is not because everything is
them? Because this is about settling in-between modes, given the same worth, but, on the contrary,
in-between worlds, in the passages, transitions, turns, because everything that is of worth can only
slippages, crossings and twists of perspective, even in make itself and distinguish itself by challeng-
the negotiations between modes and worlds. Just to take ing judgment. What expert judgment, in art,
a trivial example, even closer than that of the shamans: could possibly inflect on a future work? We
France-based ethno-psychiatrist Tobie Nathan primar- don’t have reason to judge other existing enti-
ily attends to African immigrant families. When he calls ties, but rather to feel if they behove us or not
them into his office, Nathan also invites all the ‘entities’ – in other words, if they bring us strength or,
that accompany them, and with whom an arduous neon the contrary, lead us to the miseries of war,
gotiation begins to redesign relationships, liberate ‘evil to the poverties of the dream, to the rigours of
spirits’ and manage conflict. It is during this exchange organisation.25
process between these very different modes of existence
– these in-between worlds – that something can be ges- In another text written along with Guattari, Deleuze
tated or healed. adds:
254
Pages from Les Détours de l’agir: Ou Le Moindre Geste, 1979, Fernand Deligny
255
There is not the slightest reason for thinking infiltrates every part of life, or capitalism as religion,
that modes of existence need transcendent as Walter Benjamin referred to it – calls for analytical
values by which they could be compared, se- instruments and unorthodox reactions. How could one
lected and judged relative to one another. On swim against the tide of this hegemony to reveal the mul-
the contrary, there are only immanent criteria. tiple forms that resist, reinvent themselves or are even
A possibility of life is evaluated through itself being forged in rebellion, in opposition to the hegemony
in the movements it lays out and the intensi- of a market system, however democratic it may seem?
ties it creates on a plane of immanence: what As Deleuze and Guattari write:
is not laid out or created is rejected. A mode
of existence is good or bad, noble or vulgar, Human rights say nothing about the imma-
complete or empty, independently of Good nent modes of existence of people provided
and Evil or any transcendent value: there are with rights. Nor is it only in the extreme situa-
never any criteria other than the tenor of exis- tions described by Primo Levi that we experi-
tence, the intensification of life.26 ence the shame of being human. We also ex-
perience it in insignificant conditions, before
When commenting on belief in God, comparing Pascal’s the meanness and vulgarity of existence that
proposal with Kierkegaard’s, the only criterion used is haunts democracies, before the propagation
vital – the question is not whether or not God exists or of these modes of existence and of thought-
how much you win or lose by guessing right. Rather the for-the-market, and before the values, ideals
question regards what mode of existence belief implies and opinions of our time. The ignominy of the
for those who believe, and to what extent the believer possibilities of life that we are offered appears
and the non-believer are still on the same plane; and from within. We do not feel ourselves outside
what happens when the plane of immanence that charac- of our time but continue to undergo shameful
terises an era such as ours changes: compromises with it. This feeling of shame is
one of philosophy’s most powerful motifs.28
on the new plane, it is possible that the prob-
lem now concerns the one who believes in Our era revolves around this pathology: market-ready
the world, and not even in the existence of the modes of existence. Part of the contemporary effort is
world, but in its possibilities of movements to diagnose this illness and retrace its genesis, ramifica-
and intensities, so as once again to give birth tions and effects. Among them, of course, is the daily
to new modes of existence, closer to animals rejection of ‘minor’ modes of life, minority ways of living
and rocks. It may be that believing in this that are not only more fragile, precarious and vulnerable
world, in this life, becomes our most difficult (poor, crazy, autistic), but also more hesitant, dissident,
task, or the task of a mode of existence still and at times more traditional than others (indigenous
to be discovered on our plane of immanence people); modes that are, on the contrary, still being
today.27 born, tentative, even experimental (those still to come,
to be discovered, to be invented). In fact, there is a war
This is the challenge revealed by Deleuze and Guattari between different modes of life or forms of life today,
here – that of a mode of existence to be discovered, in and this war – albeit inseparable from the hegemonic
agreement with our plane of immanence, from which all mode of production and its inherent conflicts – is not
transcendence has been exorcised and where it can no exclusively reducible to it. Perhaps this is what has led
longer fall back on a final plea. A world pregnant with some philosophers recently to dwell on such contrasting
possibilities is what, it appears, is being kept from us on and atypical modes of existence, even if they pertain to a
an everyday basis, given the predominance of a universal bygone era.
mode of existence that tends precisely to abort the emer-
gence of any other modes.
It is easy to see the predominance of the Form of life, stylistics of existence
middle-class model, propagated as an economic, cul-
tural, subjective and political imperative, and the blatant Giorgio Agamben, for example, recently analysed the
misery that characterises it, a mix of gregariousness, cult of high poverty among the Franciscans. He demon-
sensory shields, intensive degradation and impover- strates how life and its rules become inextricably linked
ishment of life. The dissemination of such forms of in a context of religious and collective reclusion, to such
generic life, based on the dominant white-male-rational- a point that they merge into a kind of art of life. The
European-consumer pattern, as well as the moral code monastic tradition was no longer about obeying given
that grounds it – such as the theology of prosperity that rules, but living them. Thus, the emphasis shifts from
256
practice or action to a whole way of life.29 Cenobitism, a ‘life itself becomes ethical material, in which what is at
form of collective monastic gathering, was not so much stake is the form adopted by life’.38 The emergence of life
a life according to rules, but a curious inversion, a form as the main object means that one must perform certain
of life that engendered its own rules.30 But the indistinc- operations on it, put it to the test, sort through it, trans-
tion between life and rule reaches its pinnacle with this form it, etc. This is philosophy as the stylistics of exis-
Fransciscan innovation, and its cult of the highest pov- tence – the visible shape that human beings should give
erty (altissima paupertas). Poverty as a way of life means to their lives. It is not about the essence of the soul, as in
renouncing the empires of the world, and making use of the lineage of Plato’s philosophy, but a style of existence.
things without maintaining any right of ownership over Foucault insists that throughout history philosophy
them. It is the moment when life subtracts itself from favoured the Platonic tradition, a metaphysics of the soul,
law, and the world becomes inappropriable.31 Here are an leaving behind care of the self and its work towards the
ethics and an ontology that, in our context, sound almost beautiful life through a ‘speaking frankly’, a ‘speaking a
unimaginable – or, according to Agamben, precisely truth’ (paresia). This is Foucault’s provocation:
what should be imagined. As one commentator notes,
the notion of form of life, as discussed by the philoso- In any case, I would simply like to suggest
pher with regards to the Franciscans, is the antipode to that if it is true that the question of Being has
the notion of ‘bare life’. If the first books from the Homo indeed been what Western philosophy has for-
sacer series examined how a juridical apparatus belong- gotten, and that this forgetting is what made
ing to a sovereign regime produced a bare life through a metaphysics possible, it may be also that the
game of exclusion and inclusion, thus revealing relation- question of the philosophical life has contin-
ships of domination between law and life, here the ques- ued to be, I won’t say forgotten, but neglected;
tion is reversed – namely, how the form of life leaves the it has constantly appeared as surplus in rela-
legal domain and renounces all rights. The conclusion tion to philosophy, to a philosophical practice
is categorical: ‘to think of life inseparable from its form, indexed to the scientific model. The question
the form of life, beyond the Franciscan experience, of the philosophical life has constantly ap-
remains an unavoidable task for future thought’.32 The peared like a shadow of philosophical practice,
meaning of this challenge only becomes apparent in and increasingly pointless.39
light of the rupture between life and form enacted by
the Greeks – an operation whereby bare life (zoé) was Philosophical Cynicism is, however, a historical counter-
isolated from a form of qualified life (bíos). In contrast, example of this tendency. According to its principles,
Agamben argues, form of life must be understood as the Cynics proclaim, with a kind of transvaluation of all
opposite: ‘a life that cannot be separated from its form, values, that for life to become the true life it must be
a life in which it is never possible to isolate something another life, radically other, in total rupture with all
such as naked life’,33 – a life that ‘cannot be decomposed codes, laws, institutions and habits, including with the
into facts but which is always rather about possibility and philosophers themselves. Here is a canonical definition
potentiality’.34 Here the condition of thought becomes of this bíos kynikós:
clear: ‘Thought is form of life, life that cannot be segre-
gated from its form; and anywhere the intimacy of this First, the kynikós life is a dog’s life because it is
inseparable life appears, in the materiality of corporeal without modesty, shame and human respect. It
processes no less than in theory, there and only there is is a life which does in public, in front of every-
there thought.’35 Despite the particular concept of poten- one, what only dogs and animals dare to do,
tiality in Agamben (power of negation), which is where and which men usually hide. The Cynics’ life
he distinguishes himself from contemporary philoso- is a dog’s life in that it is shameless. Second,
phers who served as inspiration for him, the fact remains the Cynics’ life is a dog’s life because, like the
that according to him the ‘coming philosophy’ should be latter, it is indifferent. It is indifferent to what-
‘life, its form and its uses’.36 ever may occur, is not attached to anything,
A comparison must be drawn between the is content with what it has, and has no needs
Franciscan example and the case of the Cynics studied other than those it can satisfy immediately.
by Michel Foucault in the last seminar he delivered in Third, the life of the Cynic is the life of a dog,
1983, entitled The Courage of Truth.37 This is so particu- it received the epithet kynikós because it is,
larly because Agamben seems to address the problem of so to speak, a life which barks, a diacritical
an ascetic life from the point at which Foucault had left (diakritikós) life, that is to say, a life which can
it, namely at the threshold of Christianity. In any case, fight, which barks at enemies, which knows
Foucault understands the experience of Cynicism as phi- how to distinguish the good from the bad, the
losophy as the elaboration of a modality of life, in which true from the false, and masters from enemies.
257
In that sense it is a diakritikós life: a life of dis- self, Muriel Combes disputes the idea that it introduced
cernment, which knows how to prove, test and a new phase in the author’s thought, as if he were aban-
distinguish. Finally, fourth, the Cynics’ life is doning the problem of power, typical of his genealogical
philaktikós. It is a guard dog’s life, a life, which investigation, for that of subjectivity, within an ethical
knows how to dedicate itself to saving others investigation. Combes insists on seeing the techniques
and protecting the master’s life.40 of the self, of relation to the self, as a subjective interface
necessary in order to ponder the mediation between
The true life that the Cynics preach is, then, a life other, power and life in a biopolitical context, where the rela-
and should also, in its public, aggressive, even outra- tionship between the systems of power and the body
geous manifestation, transform the world, call for a can no longer be realised directly, as in disciplinary
world other. It is not, therefore, as in the Socratic model, societies – it became necessary to invent this new fold,
a question of another world, but rather of a world other. subjectivity. But, if this is likely to be the case, it is so as
There is therefore a reversal, the logic of which Foucault well because the life on which the techniques of the self
scrutinises exhaustively. He demonstrates the extent to are reflected is understood primarily as a life capable
which, within this supposedly truly philosophical life, of different behaviours, a life that is susceptible to adopt
an otherness insinuates itself into the world, with all its several different directions.43 Thus, if subjectivation is a
plundering, animalism, misery and worship of the dirty form of exercising power over life, it is so to the extent
and ugly, coupled with traits of self-reliance, and the it convokes work on the self. This self is not understood
outrageous self-humiliation and theatricality that these as a substantive, universal or personological instance,
performers avant la lettre exercise in public. the substantive support that exists behind the subject,
Of course, there is an implied relationship to but rather as a relational potentiality – a zone for the con-
Christianity – namely, humility, asceticism, renunciation. stitution of subjectivity. If government is a power that is
But, for Christianity, the worship of such virtues targets exercised over ‘individual or collective subjects who are
another world, not a world other – in a way that implies faced with a field of possibilities where several conducts,
that any change in this world will have the ultimate goal several reactions and diverse modes of behaviour can
of granting access to another world. Moreover, if ‘speak- succeed,’ as Foucault affirms,44 the zone of consistency
ing frankly’ was essential to Cynicism, in Christianity it of power should be conceived as being more on the side
would be abolished in favour of its own truth, as under- of the subject considered as a field of possibility, a field
stood and sanctioned by its authorities. Foucault ends his of action for a multitude of behaviours to be invented,
last lecture, shortly before his death, with the sentence: than on the side of bare life. If Agamben had the merit of
highlighting the difference between bare life and forms
It was by this reversal, which put the truth of of life, bare life must be conceived as a limit, a critical
life before the true life, that Christian asceti- point for a power that is exercised as action upon action,
cism fundamentally modified an ancient as- ‘because the life on which a biopower focuses is always
ceticism which always aspired to lead both the an informed life, a life capable of different conduits, and
true life and the life of truth at the same time, for that reason always susceptible to non-compliance’.45
and which, in Cynicism at least, affirmed the Several consequences may be drawn from this.
possibility of leading this true life of truth.41 If when thinking of biopower we depart not from bare
life but from a life capable of different behaviours, an-
Perhaps the reason for the examination of the Cynics other horizon opens. Even in the concentration camps,
undertaken by Foucault is revealed by the project whose but also in the brutal contexts of our own times, it is not
possibility he himself evokes in this seminar, namely, the naked and bare biological life, or vegetative life, but
that of a ‘history of philosophy, morality and thought that the gestures, manners, modes, variations, resistances,
would take as its guide forms of life, arts of existence, as tiny and invisible as they may seem, that make up a
ways of conducting oneself and behaving, and ways of life that become ‘visible’, ‘audible’, ‘thinkable’, possible
being’.42 This is the Foucauldian thread that Agamben to discover, to invent. Philosophical speculation is there-
continues in his own manner; it is also the Nietzschean fore not inoffensive when it is based on a certain notion
thread that is present in Deleuze, and that is present at of life rather than another. As Isabelle Stengers writes:
our moment in time in many different ways. ‘it belongs to speculative thought to fight against the
impoverishment of experience, particularly against its
confiscation by the great theoretical debates that oppose
A life capable of behaviours mankind’.46 But it is not only in the field of philosophy
that this challenge can be found.
When analysing the reasons why Foucault’s research In the process of precarisation of work and life
on biopower met the analysis of the techniques of the beginning in the 1990s, for example, it is evident that
258
these conditions are the effect of the perverse dictates of Life and capital
neoliberalism, with all of the resulting vulnerability.47 On
the other hand, and simultaneously, forms of sociability Today’s reader might wonder if we have not been af-
and collective care, activism and friendship that rethink fected at the core of possibility itself, at a moment in
the ways of life in common are being proposed by the which powers invest in virtuality as such within the
young under precarisation in many parts of the globe.48 scope of life itself. Brian Massumi has written: ‘Capitalism
The problem arises when a demonising theory of the is capturing the future to produce quantifiable added
contemporary seems to weave it within the totality that value. Capitalism is the process of converting the quali-
it was attempting to contest. Georges Didi-Huberman, tative added value of life in quantifiable added value.’52
feeling uneasy about the predominance of an apocalyptic Massumi had already drawn attention, several decades
tone that prevents those who have survived from being before, to the commercialisation of forms of life at the
seen – in a strange paradox in which the discourse that moment of their emergence, still in their virtual form.53
denounces, as lucid and enlightening as it may be, helps The colonisation of the virtual dimension of life has since
obfuscate precisely those understated existences being become a trivial fact. Consider the example brought to
reinvented – articulates the paradox as follows: mind by Laymert Garcia dos Santos about the effort
undertaken by rich countries in the face of the environ-
It is one thing to identify the totalitarian ma- mental crisis:
chine, and another to swiftly grant definitive
and absolute victory to it. Is the world really Fearing the disappearance of genetic
as enslaved as our current ‘perfidious counsel- resources so precious to the development
lors’ have dreamed, designed, programed and of an emerging biotechnology industry,
imposed upon us? Postulating this is precisely they hastened to establish ex situ banks that
giving credit to what their machine wants us could ensure them access to the planet’s
to believe. It means seeing merely the night or biodiversity, [including] fragments of the
the blinding light of the projectors. It means genetic heritage of all the disappearing
acting like losers: being convinced that the indigenous and traditional peoples, for future
machine did its work without leaving anything use. It wasn’t yet known, and is often still not
untouched, without resistance. It means see- known, what can be done with the collected
ing nothing but the whole. It means not seeing resources. What mattered, and matters, is
the space – whether it be interstitial, intermit- their anticipated ownership. The logic of such
tent, nomadic or improbably located – within operations seems to be: biological beings –
the openings, what is possible, the flashes, the plants, animals and humans – have no value
nevertheless.49 in themselves, as they exist; what counts
is their potential. If the beings had value in
And he adds: ‘In order to learn about the fireflies, you themselves, the task would be to save them
need to see them at the moment of their survival: it is from extinction and preserve them in their
necessary to see them dancing alive in the heart of the integrity, to protect them and their habitat.
night, even if the night were wiped out by some fierce But this is not the idea: the focus was not on
projectors.’50 The challenge consists of maintaining a the bodies, the organisms, the individual liv-
twilight in which they may appear with their own light, ing beings, but on their components in their
instead of subjecting them to the spotlight of reason or virtual potentialities. Technoscience and
spectacle, which overshadows them. Something similar global capital are not interested in biopoliti-
to what Deleuze did, when, facing the barrage of words cal resources – plants, animals and humans.
to which we are exposed, defended the ‘vacuoles of si- What counts is their potential to rebuild the
lence’ so that finally we would have something to say.51 world, because this represents potential power
Or Deligny, who had to withdraw from the existing insti- in a process of reprogramming and recom-
tutions and the buzz of the 1960s in order to set up his bination. [...] The only ‘thing’ that counts is
‘attempt’, his ‘raft’. And again Deligny, who, faced with information.54
the saturation of images that surrounded him, needed
to abandon ‘filming’ in order to reveal a naked image. A living being is reduced to a packet of information, and
Isn’t this twilight, silence, shriveling, subtraction, decel- the prerogative of the virtual is directed towards ‘pre-
eration, in the contemporary context the condition that paring for the future so that it emerges having already
facilitates the instauration of lesser modes of existence? been appropriated – it is a plundering in the future and
Wouldn’t these conditions be necessary to preserve the of the future.’55 Life itself becomes patentable through
very possibility of instauration? the colonisation of the virtual and the capitalisation of
259
genetic information. Resistance, notes the author, re- Exhaustion and clairvoyance
quires the defence of living people as well as to aim for
the ‘the possibility of other becomings, different from Every new mode of existence is the result of a subjective
that designed by technoscience and global capital. That mutation, a break with the dominant meanings. The pos-
is to say: the struggle for existence ... and the continuity sible is no longer confined to the realm of the imagina-
of existence.’56 tion, or of dreams, or of the ideal, and extends towards
Faced with the performativity of capital, as a field – the field of possibilities. But ‘how is a field of
Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri say, we would have to possibilities opened?’, wonders François Zourabichvili
imagine something like a counter-performativity,57 whose examining Deleuze’s texts.62 Aren’t the moments of
forms of expression have multiplied in various parts of insurrection or revolution precisely those in which we
the globe, including Brazil. It is obvious that the nature catch a glimpse of the field of possibilities? ‘The event
of the protests in June 2013 point to another political creates a new existence, produces a new subjectivity
grammar, where form is already part of the meaning: (new relationships with the body, time, sexuality, the en-
horizontality and the absence of a centre or a point of vironment, culture, work…).’63 Such moments, whether
command in the demonstrations. If the protests then individual or collective (think of May 1968), correspond
dramatised the rejection of representation, they may to a subjective and collective mutation in the sense that
also have expressed a certain distance in relation to the the circumstances that were once experienced as inevi-
forms of life that have been brutally imposed in recent table suddenly appear as intolerable. That which was
decades, in our own context as well as all over the world: previously not even imaginable suddenly becomes think-
unbridled productivism combined with a generalised able, desirable. There is a paradigm shift of affection
precariousness; the mobilisation of existence in light of that redraws the boundary between what is desired and
purposes whose meaning escapes us all; a pharmapor- what is no longer tolerable. Would it not then be possible
nographic power, as Beatriz Preciado puts it58 (in Brazil’s to apply these criteria to distinguish between forms of
case, examples of this include the insistence on a cure life? Could a life not be defined by what it desires and
for homosexuality; Ritalin administered en masse to rest- rejects, by what attracts and repulses it? For example,
less children; the medical monitoring of moods, of ex- what is desired in capitalism, and what is regarded with
citement, of tranquillity, of happiness through drugs); as disgust? Are these the same as within the monastic tradi-
well as the manufacturing of the indebted man, as indi- tion, an indigenous culture, in the hippie movement and
cated by Lazzarato59 (the derivatives crisis is only a small in Leninism? And are they the same among the elderly,
example of a widespread subjective economic system in poets, skinheads and transsexuals? Planes, spheres and
which we manufacture both debt and guilt, Schuld); the scopes are being purposefully multiplied here, for we
capitalisation of all walks of life – in short, a biopolitical should also ask, in the wake of recent decades, what is
nihilism that can result in no other reaction than the mul- desirable and what is no longer tolerable in relation to
titudinous life put on display. The movements that took the body, sexuality, old age, death, otherness, misery,
place attest to a new composition of metropolitan labour, etc. Could we not say that this is what defines social sen-
which demands circulation throughout the city, going sibility? And is it not this social sensibility that has been
against the tide of the growing privatisation of spaces experiencing gradual or sudden changes – at times at an
in cities,60 a direct relationship between street and the unexpected pace – especially during moments of crisis
net,61 etc. But it can be affirmed that, in addition to these or rupture?
detailed analyses, many other desires were expressed Indeed, something appears to have exhausted
in this way once the gates were broken open. We speak itself in those forms of life that once seemed inevitable.
of desire, and not claims, precisely because claims can This exhaustion can be a political, biopolitical or even mi-
be satisfied, but desire obeys a different logic – it tends cropolitical category, as long as we understand that we
to expand, it spreads, infects, proliferates, multiplies and are not talking only about mere weariness, nor about a
reinvents itself as it connects with others. Maybe anoth- surrendering of the body and mind. More radically, it is
er political and collective subjectivity for which we lack the result of disbelief, of a process of tearing apart, a de-
categories and parameters is being (re)born, here and tachment, a deposition – with regards to the alternatives
in other parts of the world. An insurgent, anonymous, that are available, the opportunities that are presented to
multiple subjectivity, a movement rather than a political us, the potential that still exists, the clichés that cushion
party, a current rather than a discipline, made of impulse and mediate our relationship with the world and make it
rather than purpose, where mobilisation and suspension tolerable but unrealistic and, for this very reason, intoler-
merge, with an exceptionally strong summoning power, able and no longer credible. The exhaustion unleashes
without any promises or guarantees, much less that of what ‘links’ us to the world, what ‘supports’ us and oth-
becoming the new subject of history. ers, what makes us ‘cling’ to its words and images, what
gives us ‘comfort’ within the illusion of completion (of
260
Edward Krasiński, Spear, 1963-1965
261
the self, the us, the meaning, freedom, the future) – an licitudinous, virtual, invisible, possible, or to use another
illusion that we have already abandoned at times, even terminology, spirits, gods, animals, plants, forces, etc.).
though we still feel close to it. There is a certain cruelty This is an inevitable ambiguity, because there is no way
in this attitude of detachment, without a doubt, but such to separate the two: the ways of life of human beings are
cruelty carries with it a mercy that unties bonds.64 Only inseparable from the planes of existence with which they
through a coming apart, a detachment, an emptying as cohabit (and both may be called modes of existence),
well as through the impossibility that is thus established, just as life is inseparable from the form of life, and a life
does the need for something else materialise – some- is inseparable from its variations. It is possible that capi-
thing else that we could too pompously call the ‘creation talism, or biopower, or eurocentrism, or our outdated
of the possible’. We should not leave this formula to ontology invest precisely in a split between the two, thus
marketing departments, nor should we burden it with an interfering in the very possibility of other ways of living,
overly imperative or whimsical responsibility, full of will. just as they invest in sabotaging, monitoring and profit-
Perhaps we should preserve Samuel Beckett’s quivering ing from certain planes of existence (to use a ‘childish’
dimension, which, with calculated precision, points in example, the growing production of electronic games
his visual poems to the undefined state to which beings and their ubiquity in childhood and adulthood). In order
are elevated. These beings correspond, even in their to counter this trend, it would be necessary to become
most concrete contexts, to the indefinition of becomings, an advocate of those modes of existence that (from our
where they reach their maximum effect of deterritoriali- perspective) ‘do not exist’.
sation – and then people wonder, what is it that is hap- Eduardo Viveiros de Castro, who understands a
pening? Where is it all going? What do the insurgents thing or two about modes of existence within the realm
want? of Amerindian anthropology, summed up the challenge
This is where one can invoke the figure of the of this field of study as that of taking indigenous think-
seer, to which Deleuze returns particularly in his books ing seriously, and trying to understand what effects it
on cinema. In a given situation the seer sees something may have on our Western way of thinking.65 Take the
that exceeds and moves beyond the situation itself, and example of knowledge. For us, knowledge presupposes
that has nothing to do with fantasy. Clairvoyance has as an intentional neutralisation of the object, a total desub-
its object reality itself in a dimension that extrapolates its jectivisation.
empirical contours, in an attempt to grasp its real but not
yet fully deployed potential. What the seer sees, as in the Our epistemological game is called objectifica-
case of Beckett’s insomniac – clairvoyance can obviously tion: everything that is not objectified remains
be a collective experience as well – is the pure image, its unreal and abstract. The form of the Other is
brilliance and extinction, its rise and fall, its accomplish- a thing. Amerindian shamanism is modelled
ment. He sees intensity, power, virtuality. It is neither on the opposite ideal: to know is to ‘personify’,
the future, nor a dream, nor the ideal, nor the perfect to adopt the point of view of what one strives
design, but rather the forces working toward redesign- to understand. Or, better yet, the point of view
ing the real. The seer can be an artist, philosopher, any of whom one strives to understand. Because
given singularity, anonymous, poor, autistic, crazy – in the central task is to know the ‘who of things’
any case, the seer is one who in his own manner calls for (Guimarães Rosa) [...]. The form of the Other
modes of existence still to come. Despite the difference is a person.66
in tone, we are not far from the modes of existence that
require instauration, and to which we must (but who is Thus, ethnographics of indigenous America is
this we?) eventually reply. The entire art of instauration populated with references to a cosmopolitical
is now demanded of us. theory that describes a universe inhabited by
different types of actants and agents, human
and non-human – the gods, animals, the dead,
Human-inhuman modes of existence plants, meteorological phenomena and often
objects and artefacts as well. They all bear the
It is not our intention to avoid the difficulties that have same general set of perceptual and cognitive
accumulated concerning the shifts of meaning in the dispositions and inclinations – in other words,
expression ‘modes of existence’. In fact, this expression a similar ‘soul’.67
now seems to refer to a way of life of human beings (e.g.,
active or reactive, noble or vulgar, affirmative or nega- Such a world is composed of a multiplicity of viewpoints,
tive, full or empty, in majority or minority), as well as to each anchored in a body, each body equivalent to a bun-
the modes of existence of beings with which these same dle of affects and capabilities; and it is there that those
humans have an intimate relationship (phenomenal, so- with a soul, the subjects, embed themselves. Alterity
262
thus reaches cosmic and protean contours, and its virtu- not to realise it, not to explain it, not to make it concrete,
ality spreads everywhere, without allowing itself to sub- to unwrap it – but to let it strike, fluctuate.
mit to a transcendental unity. What relationship could there be, in the context
The contrast with our submission to the state is where the anthropologist operates, between beings,
striking. In the postface of Pierre Clastres’s Archaeology ways of life and planes of existence? They are absolutely
of Violence, Viveiros de Castro writes: inseparable. ‘The diversity of forms of human life cor-
responds to the diversity of the ways we relate to life
For there exists a ‘way of being’ very in general, and with the myriad singular life forms that
characteristic of what he [Clastres] called occupy (and inform) all possible niches in the world we
primitive society. No ethnographer who has know.’72
lived together with an Amazonian culture, Perhaps it is along those lines that one could
even those that show important elements of rethink ethics, as it has been done by Pierre Montebello,
hierarchy and centralisation, could have gone when he defined the ethical gesture as a ‘taking into ac-
without experiencing it in all its evidence, count of all lives together,’73 making them resonate. What
as unmistakable as it is elusive. This way of Combes would term ‘a humanism after the death of
being is ‘essentially’ a politics of multiplicity man’74, – a humanism without man, built upon the ruins
[...] the politics of multiplicity is more a way of of anthropology.
becoming than a way of being [...] in short, it
is a concept that refers to an intensive mode of
existence or an ubiquitous virtual operation.68 Modes of existence, modes of giving up, modes
of resistance
The definition of the intensive mode of existence cannot,
of course, leave us indifferent, as, along with the con-
cepts and clashes previously evoked, they question the Fortunately, in this debate no one can have the last
predominant modes of existence among us. But neither word – not the anthropologist, not the philosopher, not
should this definition be reified. the artist, not the psychologist, not the scientist. How
Let’s remember something Deleuze says: the could we fail to acknowledge the right of each and every
Other expresses a possible world. The Other does not one of them to shape it according to their own rhythm,
coincide with another that would embody it. When this their misconception being the condition of possibility of
reflection happens, as with Albertine in Proust, when this polyphony? Regardless of whether we use the terms
her face expresses the ‘amalgamation of the beach ‘mode of existence’, ‘possibility of life’, ‘aesthetics of exis-
and waves’, the so-called ‘possible’ world that was tence’ or ‘form of life’, what is at stake, always, is an exis-
previously only implicated, involved and complicated tential pluralism in which different beings – each with its
becomes explained, expanded and made concrete. own mode of existence, in a different degree and inten-
However, the philosopher identifies a risk there, hence sity of existence – may be instaured but also de-installed,
his warning ‘not to explain oneself too much […] not in such a way that between them passages, transitions
to explain oneself too much with the Other, not to and shifts might open up, as may also breakdowns,
explain the Other too much, to maintain its values im- evaporation and exhaustion. Possible existences, virtual
plicit, to multiply our world, populating it with all of that states, invisible planes, fleeting appearances, sketched-
which is expressed that does not exist outside of its out realities, transitional areas, inter-worlds, in-between
expressions.’69 worlds, can all be combined into a whole different gram-
Now, what Viveiros de Castro requests from mar of existence. Every time we commit ourselves to a
anthropology in the wake of this warning is that it refuse being, a work, a theory, a political or scientific, or clini-
to ‘update the possibilities expressed by indigenous cal, or aesthetical proposal, we instaure a mode of exis-
thinking’ – whether it be their ‘de-realisation as others’ tence and, thus, in a boomerang effect, we experiment
fantasies’, or ‘fantasising them as being contemporary a mode of existence with its drifts. Instauration is not
to us’.70 Maybe this means preserving such possibilities vague or nebulous. Latour demonstrates how, in the case
as possibilities – or preserving such virtualities as vir- of science, instauration requires experimental devices,
tualities, as virtualities of our thinking as well. And he the active preparation of observation, the production of
explains: ‘If there is anything that is legitimate to anthro- facts endowed with the power of demonstrating whether
pology, it is not the task of explaining the world of others, the form produced by this device is able to capture
but that of multiplying our world, ‘populating it with all them.75 The same could be said of a clinical device or, at
those things that are expressed but do not exist outside its limit, of the aesthetic that deals with ‘lesser existenc-
of their expressions’.’71 This would be a unique way, es’. It is no coincidence that Deligny’s film is entitled Le
among many others, of respecting a mode of existence – moindre geste [The Slightest Gesture], and the delicate
263
1 For an overview of this group of writers, among them William James,
documentary shot in the La Borde psychiatric clinic is Alfred North Whitehead, Gabriel Tarde, Gilbert Simondon, Étienne
called La moindre des choses [The Slightest of Things] – Souriau, not to mention Friedrich Nietzsche and Gottfried W. Leibniz,
see Didier Debaise (ed.), Philosophie des possessions, Paris: Les presses
as if the virtually invisible intensity and molecularity of du réel, 2011.
these fragile and vulnerable beings needed a subtle plan 2 The opera Amazonas was a collective work, developed over the course of
of consistency, of composition, where metamorphosis four years with the participation of European, Brazilian and Yanomami
and change do not represent a risk, but a stage for a institutions. The opera was presented in Munich and São Paulo in 2010.
See Laymert Garcia dos Santos, Transcultural Amazonas, shamanism
trajectory, for a test run. Hence the specific devices in and technoscience in the Opera, São Paulo: n-1 publications, 2013, p.27.
Deligny: wander lines, networks, contiguity; the singing 3 Bruno Latour, An Inquiry into Modes of Existence: An Anthropology of
of the shaman conceived as technology that can reverse the Moderns (trans. Catherine Porter), Cambridge: Harvard University
the cosmological perspective in Davi Kopenawa, or in Press, 2013, p.201.
the transcultural experience of the Amazonas opera, etc. 4 See Étienne Souriau, Les Différents Modes d’existence, Paris: PUF, 2009.
The recurring question is, which beings are 5 B. Latour and Isabelle Stengers, ‘Le Sphynx de l’oeuvre’ (trans. Stephen
Muecke), in É. Souriau, Les Différents Modes d’existence, op. cit., p.10.
to be taken on? Which should we take upon ourselves?
6 É. Souriau, L’Instauration philosophique, Paris: Alcan, 1939, p.68.
How are their whispers to be heard? How to give them
7 É. Souriau, La Couronne d’herbes, Paris: UGE, 1975, p.53.
a voice? How are we to let ourselves be ‘hit’ and affected
8 Ibid.
by them? How are we to instaure them while preserv-
9 É. Souriau, Avoir une âme: essai sur les existences virtuelles, Paris: Belles
ing the singularity of their mode of existence? How can Lettres, 1938, p.17.
we open passages and metamorphoses for them? Not 10 David Lapoujade, ‘Souriau: une philosophie des existences moindres’, in
only are we talking about fragile minorities, and a list D. Debaise (ed.), Philosophie des possessions, op. cit., pp.175-76.
of them would be almost infinite; they include earthly 11 É. Souriau, Les Différents Modes d’existence, op. cit., p.109.
beings threatened by extinction in increasing numbers, 12 Ibid., p.192.
the planes of existence discarded on a daily basis (so- 13 D. Lapoujade, ‘Souriau’, op. cit.
licitudinous, virtual), but also the minority becomings of 14 Ibid.
each and every one: of stammering and barely outlined 15 É. Souriau, Les Différents Modes d’existence, op. cit., p.106.
beings, of those that have given up, of beings to come 16 See Fernand Deligny, L’Arachnéen et autres textes, Paris: L’Arachnéen,
or that will never come to exist, of those decimated 2008, p.11. The Portuguese translation is forthcoming from n-1 publica-
by history, of the futures buried in the past, or of that tions.
people of zombies that used to be a mere ‘background’ 17 See F. Deligny, Oeuvres (ed. Sandra Álvarez de Toledo), Paris:
L’Arachnéen, 2008.
and that sometimes, like in cinema (or in History?) ends
18 See F. Deligny, ‘Acheminement vers l’image’, Oeuvres, op. cit., p.1670.
up invading the scene as a multitudinous protagonist.76
19 F. Deligny, ‘Camérer’, Oeuvres, op. cit., p.1744.
Therefore, it is our own existence, always incomplete, in
20 Ibid., p.1734.
a state of outline, of a work in progress, that must be con-
21 Jean-Fraçois Chevrier, “L’image, ‘mot nébulouse’ ”, in F. Deligny,
tinued like a virtual arch of a bridge that has collapsed or Oeuvres, op. cit., p.1780.
is being built. 22 ‘I have not learned to think about the things of the forest setting my
eyes on the skin of leaves, I actually saw them inhaling the breath of life
of my ancestors, with the yãkõana powder they gave me. This is how
they also instilled in me the breath of the spirits that now multiply my
words and extend my thoughts throughout [...] However, for my words
are heard far from the forest, I did draw on the language of the whites.
Maybe this way they finally understand it, and after them their children
and, later still, the children of their children. Thus his thoughts about us
cease to be so dark and twisted, and maybe they even end up reducing
the desire to destroy us. If so, our people cease to die quietly, ignored
by everyone, as turtles hidden below the grounds of the forest.’ (Davi
Kopenawa and Bruce Albert, La Chute du ciel – Paroles d’un chaman
yanomami, Paris: Plon, 2010, p.51).
23 This expression was coined by David Lapoujade and appears in the
article cited above.
24 Gilles Deleuze, Nietzsche and Philosophy (trans. Hugh Tomlinson),
London and New York: Continuum, 1986, p.116.
25 G. Deleuze, ‘To Have Done with Judgement’, Essays Critical and Clinical
(trans. Daniel W. Smith and Michael A. Greco), London: Verso, 1998,
pp.126-35.
26 G. Deleuze and Félix Guattari, What Is Philosophy? (trans. Hugh Tomlin-
son and Graham Burchell), New York: Columbia University Press, 1994,
p.74.
27 Ibid., p.75
28 Ibid., pp.107–08.
264
29 See Giorgo Agamben, De la Très Haute Pauvreté: règles et forme de vie. 57 See M. Hardt and A. Negri, Declaration, op. cit.
Homo sacer, vol. IV, 1, Paris: Rivages, 2013, p.81. 58 See Beatriz Preciado, Testo Yonqui, Madrid: Espasa, 2008, forthcoming
30 Agamben encounters the expression ‘forms of life’ already in Cicero, in Portuguese by n-1 publications.
Seneca and Quintilian, where ‘form’ has the sense of example and 59 See Maurizio Lazzarato, La Fabrique de l’homme endetté: essai sur la
model. That is where the form of life adheres to the idea of form or tem- condition néoliberale, Paris: Éditions Amsterdam, 2011.
plate, becoming inseperable from it and thus constituting an example.
60 See Giuseppe Cocco, in various articles published in the Brazilian press
31 It is not any different from what desecration evokes when restoring to and during conferences, recordings of which can be found on Youtube.
common use what had been separated into the sphere of the sacred. See
G. Agamben, Profanations, Paris: Rivages, 2006. 61 See L. Garcia dos Santos, Glauco Faria and Igor Carvalho, ‘É preciso
entender as redes e as ruas’, Portal Fórum [blog], available at http://
32 Edgardo Castro, Introdução a Giorgio Agamben: uma arqueologia da revistaforum.com.br/blog/2013/10/e-preciso-entender-as-redes-e-as-
potência, Belo Horizonte: Autêntica, 2012, p.195, 213. ruas (last accessed on 28 May 2014).
33 G. Agamben, Means without End (trans. Vincenzo Binetti and Cesare 62 See François Zourabichvili, ‘Deleuze e o possível (sobre o involuntaris-
Cassarino), Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2000, p.3. mo na política)’, in Éric Alliez (ed.), Gilles Deleuze: uma vida filosófica,
34 E. Castro, Introdução a Giorgio Agamben, op. cit., p.171. São Paulo: Editora 34, 2000.
35 G.Agamben, De la Très Haute Pauvreté, op. cit., p.12. 63 See G. Deleuze and F. Guattari, ‘Mai 68 n’a pas eu lieu’, in D. Lapoujade
(ed.), Deux Régimes de fous, Paris: Minuit, 1968.
36 G. Agamben, La potenza del pensiero. Vicenza: Neri Pozza, 2005, p.402.
64 G. Deleuze and F. Guattari, ‘Tratado de nomadologia: a máquina de
37 See Michel Foucault, The Courage of Truth (ed. Arnold I. Davidson,
guerra’, Mil Platôs, vol. 5 (trans. Peter Pál Pelbart and Janice Caiafa),
trans. Graham Burchell), New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
São Paulo: Editora 34, 1997, p.13. [English edition: Nomadology. The War
38 Ibid., p.127. Machine, New York: Columbia University, 1986.]
39 Ibid., p.236. 65 Eduardo Viveiros de Castro, Métaphysiques cannibales, Paris: PUF, 2009,
40 Ibid., p.243. p.166.
41 Ibid., p.338. 66 Ibid.
42 Ibid., p.285. It is worth noting that in the preface to the US edition of The 67 Ibid., p.21.
Anti-Oedipus, Foucault compared the Introduction to the Devout Life, by 68 E. Viveiros de Castro, ‘Posfácio’, in Pierre Clastres, A arqueologia da
Francis de Sales, considering it a book of ethics, ‘the first book written violência (trans. Paulo Neves), São Paulo: Cosac Naify, 2004, p.343.
on ethics in France in a long time’. He adds, ‘being anti-Oedipus has
69 G. Deleuze, Difference and Repetition (trans. Paul Patton), New York:
become a lifestyle, a way of thinking and living. How to avoid becoming
Columbia University Press, 1995, p.261.
a fascist even when (and especially when) you believe you are a revolu-
tionary militant? How to rid our speech and our actions, our hearts and 70 E. Viveiros de Castro, Métaphysiques cannibales, op. cit., p.169.
our pleasures, of fascism? How to get rid of the fascism that is engrained
71 Ibid.
in our behaviour? Christian moralists sought traces of the flesh (chair)
that had haunted the folds of the soul. Deleuze and Guattari, in turn, 72 E. Viveiros de Castro and Renato Sztutman (eds.), Eduardo Viveiros de
look closely into the tiniest traces of fascism in the body.’ (M. Foucault, Castro, Rio de Janeiro: Azougue Editorial, 2008, p.256.
Dits et écrits, vol. III, Paris: Gallimard, 1994, pp.134–35.) 73 Pierre Montebello, ‘Gilbert Simondon, une metaphysique de la partici-
43 See Muriel Combes, La Vie inseparée: vie et sujet au temps de la pation’, in D. Debaise (ed.), Philosophie des possessions, op. cit., p.138.
biopolitique, Paris: Dittmar, 2011, p.52. 74 M. Combes, Simondon. Individu et collectivité, Paris: PUF, 1999, p.85.
44 M. Foucault, Dits et écrits, vol. IV, Paris: Gallimard, 1994, p.237. 75 B. Latour and I. Stengers, Enquête sur les modes d’existence: une
45 M. Combes, La Vie inseparée, op. cit., p.90. anthropologie des modernes, op. cit., p.15.
46 I. Stengers, Thinking with Whitehead (trans. Michael Chase), Cam- 76 Olivier Schefer, ‘Les Figurants au cinéma ou le peuple qui manque:
bridge: Harvard University Press, 2011, p.26. pour une histoire invisible des images’, paper presented on ‘L'Envers
du décor: émergence des formes et agencements d’existence’ at the
47 See Suely Rolnik, Geopolitics of Pimping: Between Art, Politics and Laboratoire International Associé, Paris, 29 January 2014.
Clinic, São Paulo: n-1 publications, 2014 (forthcoming).
48 M. Zechner researched this topic in European collectives in The world
we desire is one we can create and care for together – On collectivity,
organisation, governance and commoning in times of crisis and precarity:
a reading through the prisms of care and creativity, forthcoming from n-1
publications.
49 Georges Didi-Huberman, Survivance des lucioles, Paris: Minuit, 2009,
p.36.
50 Ibid.
51 Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri are right in noting that the paradox
of silence as necessary for making thinking possible is only superficial,
since for Deleuze ‘the problem is no longer getting people to express
themselves, but providing little gaps of solitude and silence in which
they might eventually find something to say’. (Michael Hardt and Anto-
nio Negri, Declaration, Argo-Navis Author Services, 2012)
52 Brian Massumi, Power at the End of the Economy, forthcoming from
Duke University Press.
53 See B. Massumi, A User’s Guide to Capitalism and Schizophrenia, Cam-
bridge, Mass: The MIT Press, 2002.
54 Laymert Garcia dos Santos, Politizar as novas tecnologias, São Paulo:
Editora 34, 2003, p.84.
55 Ibid., p.92.
56 Ibid.
265
Arthur Scovino, Instagram caboquismo (O Caboclo dos Aflitos), 2014
[Caboclo-ism on Instagram (The caboclo of the Aflitos)]
266
Edward Krasiński, Installation at Edward Krasiński’s Studio, 2003
267
View of Benta Handi from an intersection in the outskirts of the Basque town Tolosa. Atop a block of concrete,
visible only from a moving car, stands the sculpture by Jorge Oteiza Estela cruz caminando. Homenaje a Txabi
Etxebarrieta [Walking Stela Cross. Homage to Txabi Etxebarrieta]. Based on the 1956 sculpture Par móvil [Moving
Pair], created out of two semicircles of metal sheets in 1993, Oteiza marked the spot where Txabi Etxebarrieta – a
member of the Basque nationalist and separatist organisation ETA – was shot dead by the police 25 years earlier.
One day before he was said to have killed a police officer. They were the first two casualties in what would become
a long list.
268
Asier Mendizabal, Agoramaquia (el caso exacto de la estatua), 2014 [Agoramaquia (The Exact Case of the Statue)]
San Agustín Plazuela, Lima. The sculpture entitled España, aparta de mi este cáliz. Estela funeraria en homenaje a
César Vallejo [Spain, Take this Cup of Suffering Away from Me. Funeray Stela Homage to César Vallejo] was erected
here in 1961. Jorge Oteiza’s tribute to the Peruvian poet was an adaptation of a small piece from 1958, also dedicated
to the poet, in which a hollow volume was created out of two pieces of metal sheet with several circular cut-outs.
They could well be the scraps left over from a previous sculpture entitled Par móvil [Moving Pair]. During his stay
in Lima, Oteiza announced at a conference and in a text sent to Spain his theory of El final del arte contemporáneo
[The End of Contemporary Art]. The 1958 sculpture in honour of Vallejo is, as the artist would later state, the last
piece he produced before abandoning sculpture altogether.
269
Jonas Staal, Nosso Lar, Brasília, 2014
Jo Baer, In the Land of the Giants. Royal Families (Curves, Points and Little Ones), 2013
270
Jo Baer, In the Land of the Giants. Heraldry (Posts and Spreads), 2013
271
Val del Omar, Aguaespejo granadino, 1953-1955 [Water-Mirror of Granada]
272
Bells pealing in fire leave the sky airless; a ceiling
of white fish transforms it into a pond.
[Singing, overlapping with above]
I am the voice of your fate!
I am the fire in which you burn!
I am the wind in which you breathe!
I am the sea in which you sink!
I am the sea in which you sink!
[Offscreen narrator]
Always, one always sinks, a reasonable voice says.
In the palace of water a prayer echoes.
The green madness of the moon has gone.
Now with the dawn come the reasons of stones and
Teatro da Vertigem, A última palavra é
the true miracle of the waters.
a penúltima, 2008 [The Last Word Is the
The sun embroiders flowers and their joy overflows
Penultimate One]
to the bottom of the ravine.
Yearning to kiss the prodigy that is so well sown
there: the school where they teach, without waiting
Aguaespejo granadino. for the moon and in plain daylight, escaping to the
gypsies with eyes wide open.
Dialogues He who gives the most, has the most. Mathematics

of God. He who gives the most, has the most. He
who gives the most, has the most. Has the most.
[Intertitles] Beating in the air the joy of the heavens and the
José Val del Omar presents earth.
A brief audiovisual essay of lyrical plasticity [Woman’s voice]
Cinematographic manifestation of the Spanish Beating in the air the joy of the heavens and the
sound system earth.
Diaphonic registered in 1944 [Offscreen narrator]
Mathematics of God, he who gives the most, has The mystery is that the milk flows in abundance.
the most [Woman’s voice]
Aguaespejo granadino How pretty is my child! Oh, God of my soul! I could
[Offscreen narrator] eat him up...!
Blind, how blind! How blind are the creatures that [Offscreen narrator]
stand on the earth. The mystery is that the sun raises the grass.
They dance without knowing why, and have no The mystery is that the water rises.
more reasons than those that come of their own Bad heart and stars, let it rise.
accord. Let it dance! Let it be!
[Woman’s voice] Here you have it suspended. Suspended.
From two bodies I come, to two bloods I go. Suspended.
I am not. Standing still. Standing still. Prisoner in the
[Offscreen narrator] sanctum of culture.
My God! How blind are the creatures whose Water-mirror of life.
reasons don’t even reach the shadow of their Rise and rise. Rise. Rise and rise. Till the fall, the
bodies. fall. Return.
[Singing] But how blind are the creatures that stand on the
Man is in a cage of his falls. earth.
Ah! A cold planet pulling at my guts. God! Love.
[Offscreen narrator] How blind, while you are so open.
Granada is the eternal frontier between night and [Intertitle]
morning. The place where stone meets water. The Without end.
blossoming earth of Ana Zaida.
Christian voices of bronze drowning in the Val del Omar, Fuego en Castilla, 1958-1960
Alhambra. In the patio of water, a choir of all the [Fire in Castile]
cries of time spurs them on.
Day and reason flee the fountains of Granada.
Come the moon, the blood races, the sap cries out.
[Singing]
Flowers are worth nothing, only your embraces
have worth …
[Altered voice]
Love. Love. Love.
I obey. I obey. I obey.
[Offscreen narrator]
‘Wingless birds, lost in the grass’, listen to Federico
of the earth.
273
Programme notes for
Fuego en Castilla
Where does the dome of heavenly light
face?
The Earth... on which sky does it rest?
Here is the road of the burning
firmament of the Mystic.
Viva Yuri Gagarin and viva Alan Shepard,
who shorten the phases of our passion!
Fuego en Castilla is a mechamystic
elementary.
While a Spanish classic says ‘life is
a dream’, an English classic clarifies
that ‘we are such stuff as dreams are
made of’.
Fuego en Castilla = Burning substance.
Fury
On the Moor of Fright and in the night of
a palpable world, a dry fury, maddened,
blind and burning, tries to cross from
West to East, from a vertigo in flight
towards ecstasy.
Delirious vertical, torn palpitation,
between the infrared realism of single-
cells and the mystic ultraviolet of
weightlessness.
Fire
Castile presents itself without colour,
without melody, without tones and...
without words. In a deep mono-rhythm
of a blind trembling of nails, before a
world that is close at hand and ready to
submerge itself in the grand show of the
invasion of the Valley of Differences by
the Fire that reunites us with the Unity.
Man must be illuminated with
temperature.
Mechamystic
The constant attraction of Mystery and
our situation and tendency to Unity
must be brought to life by means of the
Val del Omar, Fuego en Castilla, 1958-1960 [Fire in Castile] aseptic instrumental exactitude of the
progressive automatic.
Film is the grand tool that reveals
the mechamystic, in other words the
invisible mechanics in which we find
ourselves immersed.
If man advances in space, it will be
healthy for the mortal to be illuminated
with temporal lights to rest in the
incorruptible.
Life is only a slow-motion explosion,
and I wish to compress it to turn it into
ecstasy: into an eternal instant.
Duende
‘In Spain, every spring death comes and
raises the curtains.’
This sentence reveals an invisible
mechanism in which we find ourselves
submerged and, faced with the cold
fading lights, recommends setting fire to
man.
Fuego en Castilla is a sleepwalking essay
274
in Tactile-Vision, where Spanish duende (spirit) — mat, I x I.38.
torn in a vertical delirium of realism and mysticism, Length: 540 m; duration: 20 min.
in black and white and throbbing silence – strives to Optical monoaural and binaural Diaphonic sound,
produce a self-radiography of its fury [...]. CST standard, magnetic.
Luminous Cubism Without explanation and a single sentence in the final
Tactile-Vision delivers us a temporal cubic shot (which can be dubbed or subtitled).
perspective. Thoughts that shed light on the poetics of Fuego en
Tactile-Vision is produced by programmed Castilla
accumulation of projective (non-optic) light ‘The poetry of St John of the Cross inspires me with
presents. fear to the marrow.’ Marcelino Menéndez Pelayo.
The frame rate, sometimes 24 per second and ‘The Museo de Valladolid strikes terror.’
today up to 60, saturates the viewer who, in the ‘Every spring death comes and raises the curtains.’
end, inevitably surrenders to the unity of the cubic Federico García Lorca.
whole. ‘Spain is fire. Everything undulates and blazes.’ Jean
Spanish pictorial tradition which, by reflex arc, Cocteau.
over time will provide news of the substance and ‘The rhythm of Spanish jondo singing and dancing
the temperature. The day will come when this and the painting of El Greco have a phenomenal
Electronic Fuego en Castilla will be seen as the correspondence.’ Maurice Legendre.
beginning of a new phase. ‘The sculptural fireworks of Alonso Berruguete’s
Credits altarpieces contain the germ of an incredible Spanish
Produced by: Hermic films 1960. ballet. What hand, what technical numen can animate
Directed by: José Val del Omar, including those burning logs in this divine pantomime?’ Serge
cinematography, continuity, lighting, photography, Lifar.
sound, effects and editing. ‘In Spanish art, the real and mystery coexist in
Castilian rhythms performed by the dancer Vicente ineffable brotherhood.’
Escudero. ‘Every great rehearsal is humble.’ Gregorio Marañón.
15th century images by the French and Spanish
sculptors Juan de Juni and Alonso de Berruguete,
filmed at Museo Nacional de Escultura Religiosa.
Produced in 35 mm, black and white; classic for-
275
276
277
Hudinilson Jr., caderno de referência [Reference Notebook]
Xerox Action – Hudinilson Jr.
To utilise the body as matrix […] hunching over and lying much of the artist’s work. ‘A photo that I take from a magazine
entirely on the Xerox visor, thus composing shapes/textures. The no longer belongs to the photographer – the image is mine
Xerox recreates the body in its own way, destroying details and now.’ In the middle of the pages of joy and playfulness, this
placing value in others, resulting in images that border on the archive also provides images that remind us of death. These
abstract in an exercise of reading/vision. […] To understand memento mori include photographs of a plane crash, a man at
the limits imposed by the machine and amplify its resources, to the moment of his suicide, representations of Christ crucified
dominate these limits, thus inverting the relations, making it so and dead, executed men, bodies in coffins, stacks of skulls,
the machine is the vehicle and co-author of this piece.¹ x-rays of the human body. This is why the issue of the body in
the work of Hudinilson Jr. is not so evident as it is said to be.
His homoerotic poetics are comprised of a collective world of
Last year, shortly after the death of Hudinilson Jr., we came bodies. These bodies display their attributes in torsos, nipples,
across a large quantity of his work in his apartment-atelier armpits, feet, hands and hair on a graphic scale that the
contained in plastic folders filled with collages, postal art, artist particularised in the graphic language characteristic of
graffiti stencils and projects of xerographic panels. The xerography. Hudinilson Jr.’s nude performance on the machine
majority of these panels was made of enlarged photocopies of was imprinted as image in the paper photocopies which were
an image of the artist’s body, generated by the copy machine later altered graphically though successive enlargements and
itself. The enlargements allowed for the assembly of several reductions, overlaps and contrasts. Having been translated
A4-format pages into mosaics that could have taken the by the copy machine, the qualities of that body were then
dimensions of a billboard. Many of these panels present a converted into graphic structures that the artist identified as
detail of the male body, amplified many times in sequence to the result of the machine’s co-authorship, in the creation of
the point that the copy machine started to reproduce its own dotted patterns that are very particular to the medium – it is
graphic marks, its own pattern of printing, thereby creating the performative action of the Xerox, a new form of automatic
organic and abstract surfaces out of the original image. production of images in the 1980s. These impressions of
There were also other xerographic series created out of this urban Narcissus embossed on paper are also images
sets of enlargements and reductions of printed photographs of his perdition, of the loss of the contours of his figure and
taken from his vast image banks. In Hudinilson Jr.’s atelier, a testament to his fascination with the mirror. At the same
it was hard to open the door of a small compartment in the time, they attest to the life of someone who had ‘a paradoxical
cabinet that held many envelopes filled with clippings of photo existence, who lived on his own destruction’ and hoped that
prints, newspaper articles, notes and letters addressed to it would always be possible to be heard in his constant search
him, as well as photocopies of his own body. For years, the for interlocutors. The power of Hudinilson Jr.’s work also hid
eroticised body of Hudinilson Jr. – the same one that became a certain fragility of the man searching for the other. In his
known for the images of his performance with a photocopier visual studies, the artist achieved a singularity in his work
in the 1980s – heroically resisted his highly unusual and through a variety of experimentations. The amount of projects
devastating way of life. In recent times, the artist who was that we found in his atelier reflects the maturity that he had
quintessentially urban, even in his name (Hudinilson Urbano reached as an artist – the kind who immersed himself in the
Jr.), secluded himself in his apartment-atelier, isolated by the praxis of a new form of instantaneous image production and
stigma of those who drink. The owner of a complex body of which appropriated from the visual world with scissors and
work, comprised of urban interventions, graffiti, Xerox art, glue, never having reached the digital world. A large part
performance, collages, postal art and artist books, Hudinilson of his Xerox projects, as yet unseen, are printed, the copies
Jr. was also a cataloguer and archivist who kept track of the numbered and stored in envelopes identified by stamps. In
cultural dynamics of his time. This talent resulted in the the years in which he coordinated the Center of Xerography
purchase by Centro Cultural São Paulo of an extensive archive at Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, Hudinilson Jr. produced
organised by him over a thirty-year period – a collection of an enviable number of works and projects yet to be realised, all
around five thousand items about manifestations of urban art of them meticulously detailed and planned – a treasure for the
and culture in the city of São Paulo, compiled since the late market that has now awakened to his work. Less than a year
1970s. Everyday in his bed-atelier Hudinilson Jr. cut out the after his death several curators and biennials are interested in
figures that comprised his homoerotic Olympus, methodically this emblematic figure. Damn! Couldn’t you guys have looked
pasting them into notebooks alongside other figures, such him up earlier or answered the phone a year ago?
as his preferred muses and other phallic figurations, among
them Greek columns, elephant trunks, rhinoceros, horses, Mario Ramiro
giraffes. This iconography can be found mainly in the pages
of his Cadernos de referência [Reference Notebooks]. These
notebooks are the space of resonance of all his work, largely 1 Hudinilson Jr., ‘O corpo sempre como princípio’, Arte em São Paulo,
no. 8, June 1982.
created in the city of São Paulo – the place where he was
born and lived. Many of the images found within them are
photocopies that are repeated, creating quite particular
graphic solutions, reminding us of certain Pop Art practices
in the juxtaposing and overlapping of images worn out by the
actual printing process. These images cut from magazines,
newspapers, fanzines and catalogues are the raw material of
278
Hudinilson Jr., Sem título, 1980 [Untilted]
279
Arthur Scovino, Casa de caboclo, 2014 [House of Caboclo]
280
Arthur Scovino, Recanto dos Aflitos (O caboclo dos Aflitos), 2014
[Recanto of the Aflitos (The Caboclo of the Aflitos)]
Vivian Suter, view of the

artist’s house/studio, 2014
Simplicity of articulation, address and

means characterises Arthur Scovino’s
Casa de caboclo [House of Caboclo] : a
constantly changing environment which
could be a domestic space as well as a
place of ceremony, in which a set of images
(drawings, photographs, writings) and tools
(books, gases and liquids) are gathered in
order to serve as aids for an encounter that
will take place within the environment itself.
Strength of determination and
conviction are also essential to the work, and
translate into a permanent occupation of
that space by Scovino, the artist-as-caboclo,
who, with confidence but also modesty, sets
up a situation in which the unexpected can
(and will) happen in intimate relation with
the visitor.
The caboclo and his house act both
as a metaphor for what the space of art
can be and do, and as an overcoming of
its assumptions and limitations. Together,
they make us realise that certain objects, in
specific conditions, can affect us, that we
can engage in a meaningful exchange with
them and the space they inhabit.
Arthur Scovino, Caboclo samambaia, 2013 [Bracken Caboclo]
Arthur Scovino, Caboclo borboleta

(O caboclo dos Aflitos), 2014 [Butterfly Caboclo (The
Caboclo of the Aflitos)]
281
01 INT. NIGHT – FADE OUT TO TITLES
TITLES appear, similar to those in Pasolini’s The
Gospel According to St Matthew.
TITLE 1: DEAD LETTER
TITLE 2: DEAD LETTER The Pasolini Lapsus
Director of Photography: José Mari Zabala
07 EXT. DAY – THE SEA

CLOSE-UPS of CHRIST’S FACE with
backgrounds of DIFFERENT LANDSCAPES
AND TIMES OF DAY.
CHRIST
(7) Religions are systems of doctrines and
promises that, on the one hand, clarify the
mysteries of this world with a completeness
worthy of envy and, on the other, they assure
you that a well-intentioned providence will
watch over your life and you shall be reborn
in the great beyond… Common man can only
represent this providence in the figure of a
Father exalted to the grandiose. Only such a
Father can know the needs of the child of men
and be touched by his actions, appeased by the
signs of repentance.
CHRIST (CONT’D)
(8) The technique of religion lies in lowering
the value of life and in deliriously deforming the
image of the real world. Which amounts to an
intimidation of intelligence.
CHRIST (CONT’D)
(9) Love is the central argument of political
Christianity. The grand Christian discourses on
love pave the way for utilitarian and instrumental
discourses. The instrumentalisation of
the dream of love is the basis for capitalist
rationality. Man is an entity of word, love and
hope. Human energy is captured by discourse,
by religious text, by the promise of love. The
elites are measured by this is contemptuous
rejection of useful action, in the disdain for those
who cannot act other than hoping for a divine
reward.
Be useful to others because… it is in the nature
of the useful to be used.
CHRIST (CONT’D)
(10) As long as virtue is not rewarded on
Juan Pérez Agirregoikoa, Letra morta, 2014 [Dead Letter] earth, ethics will be preaching in vain. A real
modification in man’s relationship with the
possession of goods would be better than any
ethical commandment.
CHRIST (CONT’D)
(11) Nothing can be good that has made us in its
image and likeness. Civilisation is the enterprise
of conditioning humans and the conversion to
the text is repaid with neurosis. But everyone
negotiates anxiety as they can. Truly I say to you
that the idea that there is no prosperity without
order is conservative, reactionary and fascist.
282
Juan Pérez Agirregoikoa, Letra morta, 2014 [Dead Letter]
283
13 EXT. DAY - CIDADE TIRADENTES
SEDE
[Following Pasolini’s scene. The shots of

the FACES are alternated depending on
the questions and answers. As the an-
swer gets longer, the shot changes to the
FACES and GROUPS of PEOPLE WHO
ARE LISTENING. The scene continues
with the dialogue between CHRIST and
THE PHARISEE, PERSON 1, PERSON
2 and PERSON 3, reflecting on the IN-
HUMANITY OF THE SECOND COM-
MANDMENT.]
THE PHARISEE Master: Tell us, what
is the most important commandment of
the law?
CHRIST You shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your mind; this is the
first and the greatest commandment, and
the second is this: you shall love your
neighbour as yourself.
PERSON 1 Why should we love Him?
How will it help us?
PERSON 2 Yes, but how can we put it
into practice!! How can it be done?
PERSON 1 What you are asking
from us is an unrealisable, inhuman
commandment!
PERSON 3 A love that does not choose
is worth nothing and, besides, not all
men are worthy of being loved. The only
thing that such an inflation of love does
is to undermine its value.
CHRIST It is what is written!!!
PERSON 1 Then erase it, nothing goes
so much against the grain of human
nature.
PERSON 3 Love for oneself is always
great, you should know that I always
wish for the good of others in my own
image, and that … is not worth a lot.
PERSON 1 We love him if, in the
important things, he is so similar to me
that I can love myself in him. Yes, what
we want is the good of others, as long as
it is in my own image.
PERSON 2 And if you do not love
yourself, or if you are a pervert or
suffer from some pathology out of the
‘ordinary’? How then should I love my
neighbour? It would be enough for
pleasure to be evil for the moral law
to completely change meaning. Your
commandment would justify sin.
PERSON 1, PERSON 2 and
PERSON 3 move away, turning their
backs to the camera. Juan Pérez Agirregoikoa, Letra morta, 2014 [Dead Letter]
PERSON 1 [counting, with back to
camera] We had surrealist language, we
had communism, we have the golden
age…
[They move away until we lose sight of
them around the corner.]
284
Juan Pérez Agirregoikoa, Letra morta, 2014 [Dead Letter]
285
Danica Dakić, Vila Maria, 2014
Vila Maria
The carnival is over. Cars,
costumes and other props in the
depot of the samba school Vila
Maria are the stage for eight
young Picolinos performing
a tribute to the famous clown
Roger Avanzi, who is an old
man. Avanzi is filmed during
the process of putting make-
up on in the Circus Museum,
becoming Picolino possibly for
the last time.
Danica Dakić
286
Kasper Akhøj and Tamar Guimarães, A família do Capitão Gervásio, 2013 [Captain Gervásio’s Family]
In the town of Palmelo in rural Goiás, Kasper Akhøj and Tamar Guimarães recorded images of a healing session
at the spiritual centre known as Luz da Verdade (literally, ‘The Light of Truth’) on 16-mm film. The resulting work,
A família do Capitão Gervásio (2013) [Captain Gervásio’s Family], intersperses images of Palmelo with footage of
modern Brazilian architecture, shot in such cities as Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Brasília.
287
Kasper Akhøj and Tamar Guimarães, A família do Capitão Gervásio, 2013 [Captain Gervásio’s Family]
Yuri Firmeza, Nada é, 2014 [Nothing Is]
288
Terrible Deed
Michael Kessus Gedalyovich
I saw ancient handwriting in ferent that it cannot be described. ting image of Judah’s pupil (the choice
tracts copied from an ancient Several versions of Della Reina’s of name is probably not by chance) –
singed treatise found among story emerged during the late fifteenth converts one journey for another.
the manuscript archives in century – the period of the expulsion
Tzfat, in the handwriting of of the Jews from Christian Spain – and I want to go on a journey of my
the late Rabbi Yehuda Meir, might possibly be partially based on own now, at least that is what
the disciple of the late Rabbi actual historical figures. The most pop- I tell myself and ever ybody
Yosef Della Reina, who was ular version that has survived is that else: ‘It is time to set out on a
with him at the time of the of Rabbi Shlomo Navarro, known as journey!’ And how do I know
great deed Rabbi Reina the Copyist Version. Published during it is time? Because the level of
performed there… A great the second half of the seventeenth cen- boredom has once again ris-
and ‘Terrible Deed’ by Yosef tury, it is not by chance that this ver- en, masquerading itself as pas-
Della Reina, a great and wise sion coincides with the period of the sion with meaning. Or as Della
man, a discerning practitioner great turmoil that struck the Jewish Reina says ‘It is no good to
of Practical Kabbalah that Diaspora following the appearance of spend our time being useless’,
lived in the Galilee, in Tzfat. Sabbatai Zvi, his self-proclamation as I need to get my act together,
And there came a day and the Messiah, the high hopes he in- overcome my ever so refined
he opened his heart to the spired throughout much of the Jewish idleness that has become like
supplications to bring about world; and the great disappointment a second nature, and respond
salvation and remove wicked that came after his conversion, im- to the circumstances of the in-
dominions from the land... prisonment, death or disappearance. vitations. First and foremost, I
According to Navarro’s testimony, he urgently need to oil the wheels
So begins the story of Rabbi Yosef merely copied and published an ‘an- of my rusty artistic skills.
Della Reina’s incredible journey. cient and singed’ manuscript that he
Della Reina’s story is a classic one, happened to find. Navarro thus con- Navarro was born in Casale in 1606,
about a charismatic hero and his as- tinues a long tradition of mystical, her- in the Piemonte region in Italy. With
sociates which is in this case is a metic and Kabbalistic literature, of his second wife Donina, he moved to
Kabbalist and his disciples who head pseudo-epigraphic writing – just as Venice, where he studied Torah and
out in search of a ‘holy grail’. It is a the Book of Creation is attributed to Kabbalah and received rabbinical or-
secretive and resolute group follow- Abraham and the Book of Zohar is at- dination; from there he made his way
ing Della Reina’s admonition: ‘there tributed to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (a to Jerusalem. There he served as em-
is no good in indulging our days with- highly influential second-century reli- issary of one of Jerusalem’s small
out benefit’, or in other words, since gious leader). Pseudo-epigraphy: that Jewish communities. Navarro joined
we are already here and have certain well-known guile of double agents, cul- the path of Rabbi Elisha Ashkenazi, fa-
skills, it is best we use them and take tural nomads, messiahs, forgers, swin- ther of Nathan of Gaza, the herald and
action. Preferably, it is an action that dlers, religious converts, conjurers prophet of Sabbatai Zvi and the cen-
will transform reality. and artists. tral ideologue of the Sabbatean move-
Utilising his deep knowledge of the In his tale, Navarro takes on the ment. It is likely that Navarro person-
Names of God and other practices of role of Rabbi Judah – one of Della ally knew Sabbatai Zvi, as well as the
Practical Kabbalah, Della Reina em- Reina’s students and the only one who strange messianic stories surround-
barks on the most dangerous course travelled and survived the terrible ing him.
of all: to locate Satan and his female journey – narrating the story as a first- In 1664, most probably after a pro-
companion, Lilith; and to gain control hand account. Yet simultaneously, the longed emissary journey to Jewish
and neutralise them in order to launch ‘biographical’ Navarro appears with- communities in Morocco together
an event that in one fell swoop discon- in the narrative frame at the beginning with Rabbi Elisha Ashkenazi, Navarro
nects humanity from the shackles of as the one who discovered the ‘ancient arrived in the Italian town of Reggio,
history. It is a quest that, if successful, and singed’ manuscript, and at the de- where he converted to Christianity,
will start a new era with new laws. An nouement as an omniscient narrator was baptised and changed his name
act that will create a new dimension of and a teacher of morals. to Prosper Ruggieri. In the autobiog-
existence and meaning: an otherness Della Reina is likely to fail, and raphy he published, Navarro writes
the alterity of which is so radically dif- Navarro – the storyteller and split- about the visions, vicissitudes and
289
qualms that influenced his conversion. embark on the dangerous journey, The truth is that now I don’t
He writes of his wife, Donina, who ini- Della Reina overcomes his fears and really feel like heading off on
tially resisted, but finally relented and heads out to fulfil what he believes is a journey, especially since
that a child was born to the mature his true vocation; even if the price is I know that the journey will
couple after their conversion. In his devastating: sacrificing his devout dis- fail, and that the precept that
new life, Prosper Ruggieri served as ciples in this world, while forfeiting ‘what matters is the journey,
a censor of Jewish holy books for the himself of all worlds. not the destination’, is rather
Holy Roman Church. However, accord- tiresome and has lost its ap-
ing to rumours, the real reason for his A concept is easy talk, with peal. Besides, I really don’t
conversion was a love story. hardly any obligations; and have any great goal, I am not
Della Reina’s narrative converges concepts in art are at the one wanting to proffer redemp-
with the epic form – other examples bottom of the concept chain. tion nor be the Messiah; I am
being the Iliad, The Divine Comedy, I once sold to an artist, before not even sure I am sufficient-
Dr. Faustus, Ulysses, The Master and the opening of his exhibition, ly bored.
Margarita, Citizen Kane, Apocalypse a concept for 100 dollars.
Now and many more. In such narra- I guaranteed him that the Della Reina’s story is draped over a
tives, one arrives at the haggard, her- concept would last at least skeletal narrative of mystical altruism,
mit-like essence at its core: the inter- until the end of the exhibition. in its design to redeem everyone, spir-
nal struggles of a man with his fate It lasted even slightly longer. itually and socially, and to mend an ac-
and the meaning of his life, with God So I thought it could be a cursed, broken world. Simultaneously,
and Demons, with the paradox of free modest business, responding implicit in the narrative is a nagging
choice and the structurally unbridge- to a real need. Today, I would doubt and questioning concerning
able gap between imagination and re- create an app. Della Reina’s ‘real’ motive. The jour-
ality. ney begins after a partly conscious,
The Terrible Deed rambles through fa- partly coerced decision. All has been
The last time I set out on a trip miliar and obscure stations. It extends foreseen, yet free will is given; choice
I was looking for the grave of a over 75 days of ascetic mortification, is a decision that necessitates a leap
dead Messiah. I am still look- purifications and supplications for the of awareness. A paradox at the heart
ing. It is not necessarily good journey. The equipment for the jour- of the optimistic and illusory category
to begin a new journey before ney consists mainly of protective gear: termed free choice. Nonetheless, after
the old one ends. But not eve- perfumes-drugs, an inkwell and quill, all hesitations, it is still Della Reina’s
r ything is in my control, the a set of new clothes, a tallit and phy- conscious decision to explore the un-
invitation has come now, and lacteries, two lead platters and a knife mapped boundaries; a choice that oc-
I have already said that I will (known mainly as accessories for ex- casions defiance and subversion of
happily climb on the bandwag- orcism). The selected team consists of what is permitted and what is prohib-
on; I even have a concept. a teacher and five faithful and devoted ited in the existing social order, which
students. The journey’s route partial- unravels the unstable fabric of Della
Depicted as a sort of fantastic realism, ly follows known geographies: Safed, Reina’s personal identity and exist-
Della Reina’s Terrible Deed cries out Mount Meron, Tiberias, the desert, ence, which like a doped chameleon
for a comic book version, in which the the source of the Kishon River; while is coloured alternately in courage and
cursed and tragic superhero’s adven- others pass through a strange and mi- fear, tradition and rebellion, responsi-
ture is conveyed in a dark style, long raculous land: a huge snow-capped bility, freedom and madness.
shadows and a restrained colour pal- mountain reaching above the clouds,
ette: black, red and white. a vast sea, an iron wall reaching to the I thought maybe my journey
The title hints at the different lay- sky, a Mount Sa’ir in the sky. On their should be touristic – medical
ers of calamity in the story. The deed journey, they meet Rabbi Shimon and tourism. I will head out in
is a terrible one because the path that his son, Rabbi Elazar, in a dream; and search of a cure and, along the
Della Reina traverses is coated in a the Prophet Elijah and the archangels way, gain an understanding
thick patina of terror and dread. The Sandalphon, Actriel and Metatron in of the disease. I have already
deed is terrible since Della Reina’s a daydream. They come across hors- tried doctors, psychologists,
known end is one of disappointment, es and black dogs of both sexes, and psychiatrists, philosophers and
failure and betrayal. Indeed, the deed finally they meet Samael (Satan) and religious thinkers. This time
is terrible because ‘terrible’ is also one Lilith. I will tr y my luck with heal-
of God’s appellations; that silent and in- The task is demanding, if not im- ers, shamans, sorcerers and
visible God who Della Reina arrogant- possible, yet Della Reina’s faith is lim- Kabbalists. I will go where the
ly wishes to replace. itless. path takes me, and if neces-
Against all the warnings from the sar y, I will cross borders, de-
highest spiritual authorities not to serts, days and rivers. A some-
290
Michael Kessus Gedalyovich, The Placebo Scroll, 2014
what naive concept, but it from King David – as it is known, from and redemption requires diving into
doesn’t sound all that bad. David’s seed the Messiah will appear, the gutters and chaffing against the
for his name in Hebrew denotes that constituents of life – loathsome and
After many hardships and adven- the Messiah is always anointed (in exhilarating; seductive, passionate, em-
tures, Della Reina succeeds in captur- Hebrew, to anoint is le’mshoach, and battled, pushing against the bounda-
ing Satan, Lilith and their entourage. Messiah, mashiach). ries; constantly flirting with death; and
Brimming with grandeur, elation and with what is considered evil or immor-
pride, he becomes smug and careless, Maybe instead of a real jour- al. In retrospect, this is also the terri-
failing to heed precisely what the arch- ney I will write a treatise about ble place that probably gives rise to au-
angels Metatron and Actriel warned boredom. The beginning might thenticity. Della Reina’s story gained
him against: feeding Satan. Smelling be: ‘I am writing these lines on great popularity among the disciples
the scent of the frankincense, which is Saturday 19 April 2014, the and followers of Sabbatai Zvi, especial-
equivalent to proffering a sacrifice, re- time now is 11.40 a.m.; I have ly after his conversion to Islam and lat-
news Satan’s power, allowing him to just finished shaving my head, er his death-disappearance – they saw
break free from his bonds, since, just and I have already swallowed a resemblance between Della Reina’s
as God gains sustenance and strength one Colchicine pill and one quest and the no less wondrous and
from sacrificial offerings, incense and Ritalin pill, snorted another terrible journey of their messiah,
prayer, so does Satan. Ritalin pill, and drunk an un- Sabbatai Zvi, as well as finding in it a
It is not a coincidence that ascertained yet major amount source for explanations about Sabbatai
frankincense – one of Della Reina’s of Arak with ice and soda... Zvi’s conversion and the extreme and
main provisions for protection and bizarre practices attributed to him.
strength, and likely a catalyst for Della Reina’s psychic structure is Later, a religious-hermetic ideology
freeing and expanding consciousness depicted as unable to cede even a developed, accompanied by practic-
– ultimately leads to his downfall. single drop of pride and humility. It is es among small, secretive Sabbatean
Frankincense and myrrh were the always the same hubris – the Golem groups, revolving around conceptions
main ingredients of the anointing oil: who thought about his creator, who of ‘sacred sin’, ‘salvation through the
the revered concoction used to purify thought he had thought up his creator, sewers’ and ‘release from prohibition’.
and sanctify ritual items in the Jewish and finally thought himself to be the It appears Della Reina failed twice:
Temple; to anoint the High Priest and creator. in action and in understanding. The
kings, especially those descending It is also a journey for redemption, first, because he thought he was god-
291
like, or at least the Messiah, and there- constantly in need of the most ex- principles. Della Reina then heretical-
fore acted as if he was above and treme immoderation; a missing space ly disavows the essential, collaborates
beyond the laws which govern the uni- that can neither accommodate nor with Satan, enters into a stormy affair
verse. The second in misunderstand- facilitate success. Therefore, Della with Satan’s partner Lilith, celebrates
ing that the deity is also subject to Reina consciously chose to comply with unlimited promiscuity, murders,
these laws of the universe, and when a with the unconscious command: fail! exercises black magic and eventually
God’s voice spoke to him: ‘Woe, Yosef Otherwise, it is difficult to understand commits suicide.
and, woe, your soul, for you miscarried how the wise and erudite Della Reina It is evident, at least from the end
that which was commanded, worship- did not know, at this unique and deci- of the story, that the author, Rabbi
ing idols, burning incense to Samael sive moment when Satan begs to smell Navarro, was influenced by other sto-
[Satan] and now he is chasing you to the drug, that the frankincense he of- ries like Dr. Faustus, or the journey of
expel you from this world unto the fered him is idolatrous and a balm of rabbi Elisha Ben Avuya. Furthermore,
next world’. Only then did Della Reina life, and that this very decision could it appears that his own personal flagel-
realise that in putting everything at only have one outcome. Unless his ar- lating doubt, which arose in the midst
stake in his dangerous game, he lost rogance and pride made him think that of his personal journey, got mixed up
everything: Yosef in this world, his he was above the laws that govern eve- with the narrative, since it is known
soul in the afterworld. rything. Or the frankincense harmed that the story was published near the
his judgment. Or sharpened it. Or per- time of Navarro’s conversion.
I am stuck and time is short, haps everything is correct and part Della Reina’s story is exception-
so I decided to tr y to unclog of a mechanism that produces chang- al in Kabbalistic literature. It contains
by reading my fortune in ing explanations according to internal many passages that clearly and sim-
coffee, a painterly reading rules of a personality structure, where ply depict practical Kabbalah, magic,
directly into the scroll. When failure is actually success. the disclosure of lofty secrets, with-
looking at the first twenty out the safeguards of subterfuge and
cups, I felt like a zombie There was a long queue for artifice common in most Kabbalistic
staring into a mirror, and Esther’s room. Students and texts. It includes details of his encoun-
then I remembered Esther. teachers waited patiently, ters with the sacred and mystical char-
Esther was my teacher. She always with a cup of coffee acters, their entourage and each one’s
was a master of divination and in hand. I remember one role in the system of higher worlds,
fortune-telling by interpreting morning when all the spaces while describing the defence mech-
patterns in coffee grounds, in the department smelled like anisms against Satan. The Terrible
and I was her chosen pupil, the public toilets in the old Deed continues to be told to this day
the one who was supposed central bus station in Tel Aviv. by Kabbalists and amongst Orthodox
to continue the legacy, or Only the day after, the myster y Jews. Della Reina is seen as a tragic
so she told me. Esther was was solved. A day earlier, figure in these circles, their attitude to-
the cleaning lady in the art while Esther was tr ying on the ward him is complex and ambivalent.
department at Bezalel, the new dresses she had tailored Ultimately, what emerges from the
art school where I studied in for her daughter’s wedding, tale of the Terrible Deed is a sense of
the mid-1980s, in the twilight a student complimented her urgency, anxiety and great person-
years of the rule of conceptual overenthusiastically. Esther, al distress, alongside blind faith in
art, when postmodernism and who preferred avoiding the righteousness of the journey, and
deconstruction, and the names unnecessar y risks, especially an uncompromising willingness to
of French philosophers had an the menace of the Evil Eye, go to the limit. Della Reina empow-
enticing aroma, and painting set out on a pre-emptive strike ers and fulfils the seed of destruction
was (once again) allowed back and wiped ever y window frame hidden in him – an all too human pro-
from the dead. Esther looked in the department with her cess, which could not have occurred
like a witch from a Goya fresh urine – a tried and true otherwise.
painting, but more colourful. formula. They wanted to fire
It was said that when she was her, but no one dared. Anyway, If I understand correctly, the
a child she fled barefoot from reading my coffees didn’t help, cards show that I am not ask-
Aleppo in Syria to Jerusalem so I invited Haim to come and ing the right question.
carr ying a hidden gold read my fortune by opening a
treasure. pack of cards.
Della Reina’s fate was decreed by a After Della Reina lost his place in this
personality, which combined seduc- world and the next, he had nothing
tion by power and an internal failure else to lose. He repudiates all prohi-
mechanism. It is a deep mental lack, bitions, betraying his faith and all his
292
293
Nosso Lar, Brasília
During the six months that I travelled in and out of Brazil,
living in São Paulo and visiting Brasília and Rio de Janeiro
with fellow artists, I developed the idea of engaging in a
thorough comparison between the Spiritist and Modernist
architectural movements. This came partly as the result
of long walks in São Paulo, in an attempt to gain a quotid-
ian grip on this commercial-free horizon-wide assemblage
of concrete buildings containing some seventeen million
people in this one city that I had to learn to live in. I en-
countered the many Spiritist centres around the city, and
attended a few Sunday morning evangelical sessions; I be-
gan to note the recurring use of three-dimensional digital
imagery to depict a variety of representations of the spirit
world awaiting its followers after death. I remarked to one
of my fellow travellers that it was somehow surprising that
Spiritists seemed to have so much less trouble in depict-
ing a different world, a different political horizon and an
idea of social justice than the progressive Left today. This
resulted in a collection of books of drawings and other
depictions that I found at the Spiritist booksellers spread
Yael Bartana, Inferno, 2013 [Hell]
throughout the city. It was thus inevitable that I would en-
counter the figure of Chico Xavier, whose works can be
found in about every street kiosk – so are the works of
Nietzsche, Marx and Kerouac, by the way – and in even
greater abundance at specialised Spiritist centres. It was
there that I also encountered the drawings of Heigorina
Cunha, who had depicted Nosso Lar through pencil draw-
ings for Xavier. […]
When I prepared a visit to Brasília the resem-
blance of its planology to the Spiritist city of Nosso Lar,
as described by Xavier and drawn by Cunha, struck me.
Much has been written about the famous city of Lúcio
Costa, Oscar Niemeyer and its landscape architect Burle
Marx, and many artists and architects before me had
reflected on the ‘failure’ of utopian Modernism. I do not
wish to be yet another to declare the death of Modernism
– mainly because I am not convinced that this is indeed
the case. But here an unexpected link emerged: how
could there possibly be a relation between the metaphysi-
cal notion of Spiritism and the administrative egalitar-
ian basis of Modernism? Comparing dates, I found that
Xavier’s model of Nosso Lar preceded that of Brasília.
Comparing infrastructure, I found the cities to encompass
the exact same size. Comparing the political structure of
both cities, I found a series of overlaps difficult to deny. It
was evident: Spiritism and Modernism are not the same
thing, even though some esoteric tendency in European
Modernism had certainly always been present despite
its formal ‘administrative’ aesthetics. But at the same
time, they were also too similar to deny any reference
altogether. […]
294
Both Nosso Lar and Brasília rep-
resent cities that should be considered as
historical and ideological culminations into
an infrastructural and architectural form.
The radicalism of their premise allows for a
precise reading of the many social, economic
and political factors that they resulted from.
Contrary to the cities that emerge as the
chaotic collages of private interests that Le
Corbusier was so offended by, they mark clear
points in time, conceptual propositions whose
consequences where taken to their fullest, in
every way imaginable. These grand, almost
singular gestures are rare, and often show
dictatorial streaks. But maybe this is one of
the aspects that makes Nosso Lar and Brasília
so fascinating; the fact that their emancipatory
potential goes hand in hand with their repres-
sive, authoritarian characteristics. They are
concretised moments in time that force us to
confront our own political orientation when
it comes to the different futures that we are
obliged to imagine for ourselves, and for the
world that we are part of.
Jonas Staal
295
Nova Jerusalém
Evangelical churches have gained tremendous strength and influence in Brazil, yet they have
scarcely been studied, remaining largely invisible to theory. In 35 years, the number of Bra-
zilians declaring themselves to be followers of an Evangelical church has jumped from 6.6
percent of the population to 22 percent, and religious radio and television stations have flour-
ished. The once unrivalled monopoly of the Globo network is now threatened by the growth
of the church-owned TV Record and its Bible-inspired telenovelas; God has become a funda-
mental figure in Brazilian politics, and a religious bench stands together in the Congress on
specific issues – against abortion or gay rights.
Compared to the complexity of the phenomenon, the weakness of common analysis is strik-
ing. It oscillates between miserabilism and populism. In the first case the manipulation and
exploitation of the uneducated masses are denounced, while in the latter, the social order pro-
moted by these recent religious institutions is presented as a genuine self-organisation that
keeps poor people away from crime, drugs and other ‘deviant’ behaviours. To avoid this dou-
ble-bind approach, the Nova Jerusalém [New Jerusalem] project focuses on a seemingly mar-
ginal but in fact impressive dimension of the phenomena: the relationship that these new reli-
gious movements – ‘new’ since most of the churches appeared in the second half of the twen-
tieth century – have with Judaism, the Bible and Israel, and the rise of a unique and complex
hybrid and trans-religious phenomena.
Names and symbols traditionally associated with Judaism flourish in Brazil’s slums and ur-
ban centres. Churches, shops, restaurants are named after El Shaddai (‘god almighty’ in He-
brew), Shalom (‘peace’) or Bet-El (‘house of god’). On a more spectacular scale, some church-
es imported stones from Jerusalem to build their temples. The city used to be considered the
womb of secularity and the tomb of religiosity. Now it seems that God is back in town.
The phenomenon spreads all over the country and connects Brazilian history to current iden-
tity issues. In Counting the Stars (2014), Nurit Sharett tells the story of her journey through
Brazil. In collaboration with researchers Arieh Wagner, Carlos Gutierrez and Anita Novin-
sky, Sharett researched Anussim groups. The Anussim claim to descend from Jews who were
forced (precisely, anussim means ‘forced’ in Hebrew) to convert to Catholicism by the Portu-
guese Inquisition in the fifteenth century and escaped to Brazil.
296
Many of the self-proclaimed Anussim discovered their Jewish roots through the knowledge
they acquired about Judaism by participating in Evangelical churches. Between lost tribes,
new Jews and old Christians, Sharett’s film brings together Judaism, Evangelism and the
history of colonial Brazil, tackling the constant shifting and reshaping of religious identities
as well as their ongoing struggles for legitimacy.
This flexibility within religious identity functions as a basis to create new religious narratives
and build possible futures on mythical pasts. Using fiction as a tool, Yael Bartana’s starting
point is the power of engineering strategies that characterise the faith industry in Brazil. As
we write this text, the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God is finalising the construction
of a Brazilian replica of the Temple that once stood in Jerusalem – where the Western Wall
now stands – with stones imported from Israel. In Inferno (2013) [Hell], Bartana took this
strategy seriously and foresees – pre-enacts – its consequences by filming the inauguration
of the Temple, its destruction and the construction and its ruin. As time repeats itself – the
Temple being destroyed once again – one can testify how myths are built.
In the same direction, Efrat Shvily’s ongoing research analyses the relationship between
a dreamt architecture and its effective construction – the Temple’s replica. Together with
sociologist David Lehmann, Shvily registered the different phases of the construction of
the Temple while also researching similar constructions or initiatives in Israel and in the
old Jerusalem, which aim at creating some kind of sensual reproduction of the past. Using
traditional documentation she unties the knot that binds old and new, fantasy and authenticity,
reality and photography, to focus on what she describes as ‘degrees of illusion’.
This loss of solid references opens the way for Maurício Dias and Walter Riedweg’s current
research, which focusses on the thin line between faith and madness. In Jerusalem they
visited Kfar Shaul Mental Health Center, a psychiatric institute specialised in the Jerusalem
Syndrome. This syndrome refers to the behaviour of some tourists who, once in Jerusalem,
believe they are prophets themselves. Similar phenomenon are common at the Instituto de
Psiquiatria of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (ipub), a psychiatric institute where Dias
and Riedweg have worked over the past two years. Different territories give birth to specific
psychological phenomena. Dias and Riedweg go further and disconnect the territories
from their materiality. Jerusalem is no longer a spot on the map; it is a construction of the
imagination that can be transported along with its syndrome – just like the Israeli stones to
build the São Paulo Temple – giving birth to what one could call a Nova Jerusalém syndrome.
Benjamin Seroussi and Eyal Danon

Nova Jerusalém is a curatorial project intersecting with the 31st Bienal.
297
298
299
300
Wilhelm Sasnal, Capitol, 2009
301
Wilhelm Sasnal, Columbus, 2014
302
Wilhelm Sasnal, Untitled, 2013
303
304
Pages from The Situationist Times, no.5, December 1964
305
306
307
308
309
Gülsün Karamustafa, Resimli Tarih, 1995

[Illustrated History]
310
311
Lia Perjovschi, Knowledge, 2014
Otobong Nkanga, sketch for Landversation, 2014
Prabhakar Pachpute Back to the Farm II, 2013
Exhibition Del Tercer Mundo, Havana, 1968 [On the Third World]
Participants’ Agnieszka Piksa 132, 138, 186, 187, 319
Index Alejandra Riera 136, 138, 149, 228, 229, 318
Alessandro Petti 19, 21-25, 128, 138, 319
Almires Martins 108, 109, 131, 138, 320
Ana Lira 62, 63, 129, 138, 320
Anna Boghiguian 116, 117, 120, 131, 139, 318
Archivo F.X. / Pedro G. Romero 148, 149, 195-200, 319
Armando Queiroz 1-4, 108, 109, 131, 138, 139, 146, 320,
325-328
Arthur Scovino 134, 139, 249, 266, 280, 281, 318
Asger Jorn 95, 130, 135, 136, 139, 304-309, 318
Asier Mendizabal 134, 139, 268, 269, 318
Basel Abbas 132, 136, 139, 140, 188-190, 319
Bik Van der Pol 26, 27, 128, 140, 320
Bruno Pacheco 16, 96, 128, 130, 140, 319
Chto Delat 132, 136, 140, 172-174, 319
Clara Ianni 132, 140, 184, 185, 318
Contrafilé, Grupo 21-25, 128, 140, 319
Dan Perjovschi 63-65, 129, 140, 320
Danica Dakić 94, 95, 130, 135, 136, 141, 286, 318, 320
Débora Maria da Silva 132, 141, 184, 185, 318
Éder Oliveira 70, 129, 141, 320
Edward Krasiński 134, 141, 261, 266, 267, 320
El Hadji Sy 117-119, 131, 141, 318
Erick Beltrán 20, 45, 48, 128, 129, 142, 169, 319
Etcétera... 132, 136, 142, 176-179, 319
Gabriel Mascaro 71, 129, 142, 319
Giuseppe Campuzano 133, 142, 147, 230-233, 319
Graziela Kunsch 59-61, 142, 143, 201-211, 319
Gülsün Karamustafa 98, 124, 125, 130, 131, 135, 143, 310, 319
Halil Altındere 51, 65-67, 129, 132, 143, 191, 320

316
Hudinilson Jr. 98, 130, 134, 137, 143, 276-279, 320 Otobong Nkanga 99, 130, 135, 148, 313, 319
Imogen Stidworthy 133, 136, 143, 226, 227, 318 Peter Pál Palbert 136, 149, 151, 250-265
Ines Doujak 133, 136, 143, 234-238, 319 Prabhakar Pachpute 90, 129, 133, 135, 149, 213, 314, 318
Jakob Jakobsen 133, 136, 146, 191-194, 320 Qiu Zhijie 50, 129, 131, 149, 167, 319
Jo Baer 102, 130, 134, 144, 270, 271, 319 Romy Pocztaruk 106, 107, 126, 130, 131, 149, 320
Johanna Calle 132, 144, 183, 184, 319 Ruanne Abou-Rahme 132, 136, 139, 140, 188-190, 319
John Barker 133, 136, 143, 234-238, 319 ruangrupa 28-30, 128, 149, 320
Jonas Staal 134, 135, 144, 270, 293-295, 319 Sandi Hilal 19, 21-25, 128, 138, 319
Juan Carlos Romero 66, 68-70, 129, 144, 320 Sergio Zevallos 132, 133, 147, 159, 175, 242, 318
Juan Downey 17, 44, 58, 102, 103, 128-130, 133, 145, 239, Sheela Gowda 92, 93, 130, 137, 150, 320
318, 320
Tamar Guimarães 106, 113, 130, 131, 133, 135, 137, 145, 287,
Juan Pérez Agirregoikoa 135, 137, 145, 282-285, 319 288, 319
Kasper Akhøj 106, 130, 131, 133, 135, 137, 145, 287, 288, 319 Teatro da Vertigem 72, 73, 77, 129, 134, 150, 273, 320
Lázaro Saavedra 132, 145, 182, 318 Teresa Lanceta 121, 122, 131, 150, 319
Leigh Orpaz 91, 130, 145, 318 Thiago Martins de Melo 105, 115, 130, 131, 150, 319
León Ferrari 132, 136, 145, 146, 175-177, 179, 319 Tiago Borges 150, 318
Lia Perjovschi 101, 127, 130, 131, 135, 141, 146, 312, 319 Tony Chakar 80-89, 129, 132, 151, 168, 169, 319
Lilian L’Abbate Kelian 146, 201-211, 319 UEINZZ, Cia Teatral 136, 149, 151, 228, 229, 318
Mapa Teatro – Laboratorio de artistas 132, 146, 170, Val del Omar 104, 130, 133-135, 151, 226, 272-275, 296, 319
171, 319
Virginia de Medeiros 134, 151, 248, 249, 320
María Berríos 133, 137, 146, 191-194, 320
Vivian Suter 112, 113, 131, 134, 151, 152, 281, 320
Marcelo Rodrigues 108, 109, 131, 138, 146, 320
Voluspa Jarpa 132, 152, 181, 319
Mark Lewis 76, 77, 129, 137, 146, 319
Walid Raad 45, 132, 152, 180, 319
Marta Neves 18, 49, 128, 129, 147, 319
Wilhelm Sasnal 100, 114, 130, 131, 135, 152, 301-303, 318
Michael Kessus Gedalyovich 135, 147, 289-292, 319
Yael Bartana 132, 135, 137, 152, 170, 294, 297-301, 319
Miguel A. López 42, 147, 242-245, 318
Yeguas del Apocalipsis 32, 128, 133, 152, 243, 318
Mujeres Creando 31-33, 128, 133, 147, 244, 319
Yochai Avrahami 78, 79, 129, 152, 320
Nahum Zenil 133, 147, 244, 318
Yonamine 131, 133, 135, 153, 166, 193, 310, 311, 318
Nilbar Güreş 97, 123, 130, 131, 133, 137, 148, 240, 241,
318-320 Yuri Firmeza 74, 75, 129, 131, 135, 137, 153, 288, 319
Nurit Sharett 134, 137, 148, 246, 247, 296, 318
Ocaña 133, 148, 199, 200, 245, 318

317
Index of Projects “… - OHPERA – MUET - ...”. 2014. [“… - ÓHPERA –
MUDA - … ”]. Alejandra Riera with
at the 31st Bienal UEINZZ * pp.228, 229
10.000 års nordisk folkekunst. 1961-1965. [10,000 Years

of Nordic Folk Art]. Asger Jorn * pp.304-309
AfroUFO. 2014. Tiago Borges and Yonamine * pp.166,

193, 310, 311
Agoramaquia (el caso exacto de la estatua). 2014.

[Agoramaquia (The Exact Case of the Statue)].
Asier Mendizabal pp.268, 269
Aguaespejo granadino. 1953-1955. [Water-Mirror of

Granada]. Val del Omar pp.272, 273
Apelo. 2014. [Plea]. Clara Ianni and Débora Maria da

Silva pp.184, 185
Archéologie marine. 2014. [Marine Archaeology].

El Hadji Sy pp.117-119
Bajo presión. 2014. [Under Pressure].

Lázaro Saavedra * pp.182
Balayer – A Map of Sweeping. 2014.

Imogen Stidworthy pp.226, 227
Black Series. 2011. Nilbar Güreş * pp.97, 123, 240, 241
Breakfast. 2014. Leigh Orpaz pp.91
Capital. 2004-2014. Wilhelm Sasnal * pp.100, 114, 301-303
Casa de caboclo. 2014. [House of Caboclo].

Arthur Scovino pp.280, 281
Céu. 2014. [Heaven]. Danica Dakić pp.94, 95
Cities by the River. 2014. Anna Boghiguian pp.116, 117,

120
Counting the Stars. 2014. Nurit Sharett pp.246, 247
Dark Clouds of the Future. 2014.

Prabhakar Pachpute * pp.90, 213, 314
Dios es marica. 1973-2002. [God is Queer]. Nahum Zenil

/ Ocaña / Sergio Zevallos / Yeguas del Apocalipsis
(Organised by Miguel A. López) pp.242-245
El Dorado. 2006-2007. Danica Dakić * pp.94, 95, 286
El shabono abandonado. 1979. [The Abandoned

Shabono]. Juan Downey * pp.17, 44, 58, 102, 103, 239
Errar de Dios. 2014. [Erring from God].

Etcétera... and León Ferrari pp.175-179
318
La Escuela Moderna. 2014. [The Modern School]. Map. 2014. Qiu Zhijie * pp.50, 167
Archivo F.X. / Pedro G. Romero pp.195-200
Martírio. 2014. [Martyrdom]. Thiago Martins
Espacio para abortar. 2014. [Space to Abort]. de Melo * pp.105, 115
Mujeres Creando pp.31-33
Meeting Point and other works. 2011-2014.
The Excluded. In a moment of danger. 2014. Bruno Pacheco pp.16, 96
Chto Delat pp.172-174
Muhacir. 2003. [The Settler].
A família do Capitão Gervásio. 2013. [Captain Gülsün Karamustafa pp.124-125
Gervásio’s Family]. Kasper Akhøj and
Tamar Guimarães pp.287, 288 Mujawara. 2014. Alessandro Petti, Sandi Hilal and
Grupo Contrafilé pp.21-25
A fortaleza. 2010. [The Fortress]. Yuri Firmeza *
pp.74, 75 Nada é. 2014. [Nothing Is]. Yuri Firmeza pp.74-75
Fuego en Castilla. 1958-1960. [Fire in Castile]. The Name Giver. 2013. Michael
Val del Omar pp.274-275 Kessus Gedalyovich * pp.289-292
Handira / Bert Flint / Granada. 1997-2002. Não é sobre sapatos. 2014. [It Is Not About Shoes].
Teresa Lanceta pp.121-122 Gabriel Mascaro p.71
Histórias de aprendizagem. 2014. [Learning Histories]. Não-ideias. 2011-ongoing. [No-Ideas].

Voluspa Jarpa * pp.181 Marta Neves pp.18, 49
Imponderables. 2009. * Johanna Calle pp.183, 184 Nosso Lar, Brasília. 2014. Jonas Staal pp.293-295
In the Land of the Giants and other works. 2009-2013. O que caminha ao lado. 2014. [Double Goer].
Jo Baer pp.102, 270, 271 Erick Beltrán pp.20, 48
The Incidental Insurgents. 2012- ongoing. Of Other Worlds That Are in This One. 2014.
Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme pp.188-190 Tony Chakar pp.168, 169
Los incontados: un tríptico. 2014. [The Uncounted: One Hundred Thousand Solitudes *. 2012-2014.
A Triptych]. Mapa Teatro – Laboratorio Tony Chakar pp.80-89, 168, 169
de artistas pp.170, 171
Ônibus Tarifa Zero. 2014. [Fare Free Bus].
Inferno. 2014. [Hell]. Yael Bartana pp.298-301 Graziela Kunsch pp.59-61
Invention. 2014. Mark Lewis pp.76-77 Open Phone Booth. 2011. Nilbar Güreş pp.97
It’s Just the Spin of Inner Life. 2011-2014. Perímetros. 2012-2013. [Perimeters].
Agnieszka Piksa pp.186, 187 Johanna Calle pp.183
Landversation. 2014. Otobong Nkanga pp.99, 313 The Placebo Scroll. 2014. Michael
Kessus Gedalyovich * pp.289-292
Letra morta. 2014. [Dead Letter]. Juan
Pérez Agirregoikoa pp.282-285 A Research. 2014. Lia Perjovschi * pp.101, 127, 312
Letters to the Reader (1864, 1877, 1916, 1923). 2014. Resimli Tarih. 1995. [Illustrated History].
Walid Raad pp.180 Gülsün Karamustafa pp.98
Línea de vida / Museo Travesti del Perú. 2009-2013. Revista Urbânia 5. 2014. [Urbânia 5 Magazine].
[Life’s Timeline / Transvestite Museum of Peru]. Graziela Kunsch and Lilian L’Abbate Kelian *
Giuseppe Campuzano pp.230-233 pp.59-61, 201-211
Loomshuttles, Warpaths. 2009-ongoing. The Revolution Must Be a School of

Ines Doujak and John Barker pp.234-238 Unfettered Thought. 2014. Jakob Jakobsen and
María Berríos pp.191-194
319
RURU. 2011-ongoing. ruangrupa pp.28-30 * These projects, exhibited in the 31st Bienal, are
not represented in this book because they were not
Sem título. 2014. [Untitled]. Éder Oliveira p.70 concluded before its publication, or due to editorial
matters. The pages indicated there refer to other
Sergio e Simone. 2007-2014. [Sergio and Simone]. projects by the same participant.
Virginia de Medeiros pp.248, 249
Small World. 2014. Yochai Avrahami pp.78-79
Spear and other works. 1963-1965.

Edward Krasiński p.261
Those of Whom. 2014. Sheela Gowda pp.92, 93
TrabZONE. 2010. Nilbar Güreş pp.123, 240, 241
Turning a Blind Eye. 2014. Bik Van der Pol pp.26, 27
A última aventura. 2011. [The Last Adventure].

Romy Pocztaruk pp.106, 107
A última palavra é a penúltima – 2. 2008/2014.

[The Last Word Is the Penultimate – 2].
Teatro da Vertigem pp.72, 73
Untitled. 2014. Vivian Suter pp.112, 113
Video Trans Americas. 1973-1979. Juan Downey p.102
Vila Maria. 2014. Danica Dakić p.286
Violencia. 1973-1977. [Violence]. Juan

Carlos Romero pp.68, 69
Voto! 2012-ongoing. [Vote!] Ana Lira pp.62, 63
Wall, Work, Workshop. The São Paulo Drawing. 2014.

Dan Perjovschi * pp.63-65
Wonderland. 2013. Halil Altındere pp.51, 65-67
Ymá Nhandehetama. 2009. Armando Queiroz with

Almires Martins and Marcelo Rodrigues pp.108, 109
Zona de tensão. 1980s. [Tension Zone]. Hudinilson Jr.

(Organised by Marcio Harum) * pp.276-279
320
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isn’t devouring. The Amazon isn’t struggle. The Amazon isn’t vain mean-
ing. The Amazon isn’t where you’re from and long to go back. The Amazon
isn’t the Juruna. The Amazon isn’t a land of miscegenation. The Amazon
isn’t magnitude. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t.
The Amazon isn’t a number. The Amazon isn’t an amulet. The Amazon
isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t vengeful. The Amazon isn’t.
The Amazon isn’t inconvenience. The Amazon isn’t colonised. The Ama-
zon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t the Madeira-Mamoré railroad. The Amazon
isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t a coming to light. The Amazon
isn’t an upcountry headquarters. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t an
omen. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t obligatoriness. The Amazon
isn’t. The Amazon isn’t no. The Amazon isn’t maneuvering. The Amazon
isn’t power. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The
Amazon isn’t reckless. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t potential. The
The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t a barterer. The
hedonistic. The Amazon isn’t a stampede. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon
isn’t dizzying. The Amazon isn’t guilty. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon
isn’t idleness. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t
stillborn urgency. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t.
a silenced cry. The Amazon isn’t golden. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon
isn’t. The Amazon isn’t Macunaíma. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t
disobedient. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t a valley. The Amazon
isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t sacred. The
Amazon isn’t unpredictability. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The
Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t reckless. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon
isn’t. The Amazon isn’t a harlot. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The
The Amazon isn’t isolation. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t compas-
sion. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t Camutá. The Amazon isn’t. The
placidness. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The
The Amazon isn’t unveiling. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The
The Amazon isn’t arriviste. The Amazon isn’t the Tucunduba. The Amazon
isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t guerrilla
warfare. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t throat-
slashing. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The
Amazon isn’t large-scale landholdings. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon
isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t kinkiness.
eternal Midas. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t Cambodia. The Ama-
Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t the childhood of the dead. The Amazon
isn’t a grave. The Amazon isn’t the love that I feel. The Amazon isn’t. The
The Amazon isn’t procession. The Amazon isn’t Colossus. The Amazon
isn’t. The Amazon isn’t compassionate. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon
isn’t land grabbing. The Amazon isn’t 64. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon
isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t passion. The
Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t courting. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon
isn’t a death pit. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t.
The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t anyone’s. The
Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t uniform. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon
isn’t. A The Amazon isn’t anybody. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t
green. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Ama-
zon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t. The Amazon isn’t rape. The Amazon isn’t.
31st Bienal de São Paulo How to (...) things that don’t exist
How to talk about things that
don’t exist
How to imagine things that
How to use things that
How to fight for things that don’t exist
How to analise things that
don’t exist
How to think about things that
How to read about things that
Bienal and Itaú present
don’t exist
31st Bienal de São Paulo
978-85-85298-49-4

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How to catch things that

Danilo Santos de Miranda

p.184 pp.228-229 pp.266-267

pp.289-292 p.325-Inside back cover

Every young baobab we found was revered by TC. The symbolic

After the end of a certain world

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in a city in order to be contem-

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Balé Capão Cidadão

Comunidade Cultural Sambaqui

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SÃO CARLOS, Brazil

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil

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Juan Downey, Untitled, 1988

Dates: 27–31 January Dates: 13–17 May

autonomy, the creative process,

relations between the permanent body l

and construction fears

overlapping and psyche contemporaneity

exchange respond socially

make it happen accompanying

public / private power

Qiu Zhijie, The Map of the City, 2012

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A chance for transformation

Graziela Kunsch, May 2014.

Ana Lira, Voto!, 2012-ongoing [Vote!]

Dan Perjovschi, Save Roşia, 2013

Dan Perjovschi, Save Roşia, 2013

Dan Perjovschi, Save Roşia, 2013

Halil Altındere, Wonderland, 2013

I’m not frightened only water could Zen-g:

what’s comin’ up now I wonder

[lyrics by Tahribad-ı İsyan]

Violencia, 1973-1977 [Violence]

Éder Oliveira, production process

20/5/2014 Serviço Estadual de Informações ao Cidadão

Register of Solicitation of Information

Gabriel Mascaro Seabra de Melo,

Protocolo: State Military Situação

Counting on your collaboration,

Desenvolvido e hospedado pela PRODESP

You travelled through three